Ahoy the shore Day 1 August 2010 Cruise
I am a passenger aboard the Emerald Princess cruising in the Western Caribbean, accompanied by my son Ryan (age 18) and daughter Claire (15). This is the fifth successive year in a row we have taken a cruise vacation during the "last week of Summer" preceding Labour Day. On prior trips we have visited Alaska (2009), Bermuda (2008), Canada-New England (2007) and the Western Caribbean (2006). We left our home in Toronto on Saturday the 28th and boarded the ship on Sunday the 29th when it departed from the Ft. Everglades cruise terminal.
Our trip got off to a bit of a rocky start on Saturday morning. Our flight South was departing at 7:20 AM. I had ordered a limo over the Internet to pick us up at home at 5:30. We were down waiting at the appointed hour but there was no car in sight. When I checked the reservation confirmation I realized why... I had accidentally selected the month of September instead of August in the pulldown window as the reservation date. I immediately called the limo service to report my error but they replied that they would be unable to dispatch a car for another 20 minutes. Figuring that delay would be too late to allow us sufficient time to pass through Customs, I decided to cancel the order and hail a cab.
Fortunately there was one passing by and we were soon on our way. 25 minutes later, and an approximately $60 metre fare later we were at Pearson Terminal 1. The self check in process went smoothly and there was no line- up at the counter to check bags. We had to pay a $50 surcharge to check two bags, one of which was very close to the 50 lb maximum weight limit. There were very few attendants at the US Customs pre-clearance so that process slowed us down a bit but we made up for the lost time at the security check in which was reasonably tame. We arrived at the gate a few minutes before 7 for the scheduled 7:10 departure and boarding began about 10 minutes after that.
We were flying Delta on our outbound trip, connecting through their hub in Atlanta with an approximate 1:00 stopover there. The first leg of our flight was on a CRJ which is a small regional jet with only two seats on either side of the aisle and limited overhead bin storage. We had four carrying pieces of luggage altogether which we managed to stow in our aisle (7)' two pieces overhead and two (the kids' backpacks) under the seat. We were late departing but made up for lost time in the air arriving at the gate in Atlanta a bit ahead of time. Our second flight leg departed from a gate in a terminal two away from the one in which we landed and we caught a train between the two. The connection time was perfect as we had only a short wait at the gate before loading. The second plane was a wider bodied Boeing plane with three seats abreast on either side of the aisle and so all three of us had assigned seats side by side. Like the first, this flight segment was also smooth and uneventful and we arrived on time. Our checked bags were also among the first to drop at the carousel.
Thereafter we proceeded out to the taxi shuttle waiting area and were lucky to see an incoming Holiday Inn Express shuttle dropping passengers off without having to call the hotel. The driver, who spoke only halting English seemed surprised to encounter us since we had not called in our arrival to the hotel. She asked to check our hotel reservation per work to ensure we were in fact guests at her hotel (apparently there are two Holiday Inn Express locations in Ft.
Lauderdale). It was just after 1 PM during our transfer to the hotel when my cell began to buzz indicating a missed call. I retrieved a message from my friend Dr. John Carbonell, a local Ft Lauderdale medical doctor, who I had pre- arranged for us to rendezvous with that afternoon. He was seeking to confirm our safe arrival. I called him back to advise him that we were en route to the hotel and that I would call him back later to arrange his pick up after check- in.
The cruise port Holiday Inn Express at 1500 SE 17th Causeway made a good first impression. Unfortunately a room was not made up and ready to assign to us at check- in (official check in time was not until 3 o'clock) so we were advised to check our bags, go for lunch and check back in an hour or so. We had to self check our bags in a meeting room ( the hotel has no bell hop service) on the lobby floor. Thereafter we proceeded off on foot to kill some time. First, We walked up and half across the lift bridge to catch a first glimpse of the cruise port. There were three ships in port that day including a Carnival funship and the massive Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas, which towered over the other two vessels. We passed two restaurants on our route but neither was open. We caused the street on our way back and found a restaurant called Bamimis across the street. It offered water views from a rear terrace but we opted to sit in the AC instead because the Florida heat and humidity already has us perspiring profusely. The restaurant offered a fair variety of food and was reasonably priced. Claire ordered a pasta dish (Rigatoni), Ryan ordered a chicken Caesar salad and I had a chicken sandwich. We all seemed to enjoy our dishes.
After our meal we went back across the street to return to our hotel but paused first at a Walgreens to pick up sunscreen. They had a beach section where we were also surprised to find watershoes in stock. As one of our upcoming ports of call will be in Ochos Rios Jamaica, where we plan to climb Dunns Rivers Falls, we decided to purchase a pair for Ryan and Claire (I had brought a pair with me.). Thereafter it was back to the hotel where our room key was waiting for us. We retrieved our baggage and headed up to our assigned room --412-- which we found pleasant and adequately comfortable for the c$99 a night price we had pre-paid on expedia.ca. I immediately checked back in with John who agreed to pick us up in in 20 minutes. As we would be departing on the cruise the following day, we did not bother to unpack. Instead I had pre-packed towels and swim wear in a separate carryon.
As arranged John met us 20 minutes later outside of the lobby in his new BMW. The plan was for him to take us back to his condo townhouse to go swimming in their pool that afternoon, followed by dinner later in the evening at the cheesecake factory. This was Ryan and Claire's first time meeting John and it had been several years since I had last seen him (departing on a prior cruise). On that earlier visit he was preparing to make the move to his new place so this would be the first time I would be seeing it. After a brief tour of the two story townhouse, we were soon poolside at the condos fabulous swimming pool and recreation complex. It was truly stunning featuring two waterfalls and beautiful landscape architecture. We all enjoyed the swim!
After toweling off and changing, we headed out to dinner but first stopped enroute to ascend to the rooftop of John's old condo ( which he now rents to a tenant) to see the panoramic views of the city, ocean and inter coastal waterway. Thereafter, we drove along the oceanfront to las olas drive, which is the exclusive shopping district. Although there was some difficulty obtaining parking near the restaurant, we were soon inside and seated at an outside patio taBle after a 15 minute wait ( short by cheesecake factory standards). Claire and I shared chicken nachos ( her choice ) from the appetizer menu, Ryan had a pasta dish and John had lettuce wraps. John and Ryan passed on dessert but I had a red velvet cheesecake slice (1500 calories ) while Claire went for the fresh strawberry cheesecake.
Following dinner we stopped by a few area galleries and gift shops (sign of the tough economic times--a lot seemed to be going out if business) before returning to our hotel and retiring around 11.
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ahoy the shore from Hawaii (part 3 in a series)
Day three: Sunday October 11, 2009
During the early hours of the morning NCL’s Pride of America continued charting courses from the Port of Honolulu on the island of O’hua to the Port of Hilo on the Big Island. We awoke early in the morning before we had docked and ascended to the decks to observe our approach. We fetched breakfast items from the buffet on the Aloha café and found seats at an outdoor table in the aft section of the ship, where we listened to the port specialist describe the port. Hilo is located on the East (windward) side of the Big island, which usually gets a lot of rainfall. However, the skies were clear when we arrived. The Big Island is double the size of the other 7 Hawaiian islands combined and is increasing in size courtesy active volcanoes spewing lava into the seas.
Following breakfast we made our way down to the 3rd level mid-ship, which is where the gangway is located to debark in all ports (the area is designated by stars and stripes carpeting). We wanted to ensure that we would be among the first group to debark the ship to ensure we were placed on the first mini-bus shuttle to retrieve our rental car at the Thrifty car rental location at the International Airport. We did in fact make the first mini-bus and were soon on our way to Volcano National Park in our yellow Jeep Wrangler (which we nick-named The Beast on account of its license plate bearing the numbers 666). The Jeep was a great choice for the trip however it was a tight fit for the third passenger to enter exit the 2nd row seat. Enroute to the park we stopped to buy flashlights at WalMart (which we knew from advance research we would need to navigate the lower unlighted lava tubes in the park). We took the soft-top down in the WalMart parking lot and were able to leave it down for most of the day. The drive to Hilo takes approximately 45 minutes. Admission to the park is $10 per car.
The Big Island of Hawaii is situated atop a “hot spot” that releases magma from the planet’s core through weak spots in the planet’s outer mantle. Kilauea volcano is 4000 feet high and ranks as the world’s largest currently active volcano. While in the park we drove around Crater rim drive and along the Chain of Craters Rd down to sea level by the Holei Sea Arch where the road was closed by lava flow. It was amazing to see the stream vents, craters and to hike into the huge lava tubes, guided by our flashlights. We spent the full day in the park. Rain began to threaten toward the end of our visit so we reassembled the soft top on our jeep to begin the return trip back to the ship.
In evening we had dinner reservations at 7 in the Lazy J Texas Restaurant. Prior to dinner we went to the Napa Wine Bar for happy hour (a selection of wine available at half price). Dinner in the Lazy J Texas Restaurant was well worth the upgrade fee. They offer a fine selection of choice beef cuts, including NY strip, t-bone and fillet mignon. For appetizers, we ordered HUGE jumbo shrimps, oysters Rockefeller (served in a bowl of coarse sea salt) and crabcakes, which were all excellent. The one miscue was the lobster bisque, which was a bit too thick and not very flavourful. The steaks came with a choices of sauces—we ordered poivre and béarnaise and both were excellent. We concluded our meal with cheesecake for dessert and cappuccinos. Service was uniformly excellent. Still not having acclimated fully to the time shift and having missed the performance in the Hollywood theatre we decided to retire early to prepare for our drive on the Road to Hana the next day in Maui
During the early hours of the morning NCL’s Pride of America continued charting courses from the Port of Honolulu on the island of O’hua to the Port of Hilo on the Big Island. We awoke early in the morning before we had docked and ascended to the decks to observe our approach. We fetched breakfast items from the buffet on the Aloha café and found seats at an outdoor table in the aft section of the ship, where we listened to the port specialist describe the port. Hilo is located on the East (windward) side of the Big island, which usually gets a lot of rainfall. However, the skies were clear when we arrived. The Big Island is double the size of the other 7 Hawaiian islands combined and is increasing in size courtesy active volcanoes spewing lava into the seas.
Following breakfast we made our way down to the 3rd level mid-ship, which is where the gangway is located to debark in all ports (the area is designated by stars and stripes carpeting). We wanted to ensure that we would be among the first group to debark the ship to ensure we were placed on the first mini-bus shuttle to retrieve our rental car at the Thrifty car rental location at the International Airport. We did in fact make the first mini-bus and were soon on our way to Volcano National Park in our yellow Jeep Wrangler (which we nick-named The Beast on account of its license plate bearing the numbers 666). The Jeep was a great choice for the trip however it was a tight fit for the third passenger to enter exit the 2nd row seat. Enroute to the park we stopped to buy flashlights at WalMart (which we knew from advance research we would need to navigate the lower unlighted lava tubes in the park). We took the soft-top down in the WalMart parking lot and were able to leave it down for most of the day. The drive to Hilo takes approximately 45 minutes. Admission to the park is $10 per car.
The Big Island of Hawaii is situated atop a “hot spot” that releases magma from the planet’s core through weak spots in the planet’s outer mantle. Kilauea volcano is 4000 feet high and ranks as the world’s largest currently active volcano. While in the park we drove around Crater rim drive and along the Chain of Craters Rd down to sea level by the Holei Sea Arch where the road was closed by lava flow. It was amazing to see the stream vents, craters and to hike into the huge lava tubes, guided by our flashlights. We spent the full day in the park. Rain began to threaten toward the end of our visit so we reassembled the soft top on our jeep to begin the return trip back to the ship.
In evening we had dinner reservations at 7 in the Lazy J Texas Restaurant. Prior to dinner we went to the Napa Wine Bar for happy hour (a selection of wine available at half price). Dinner in the Lazy J Texas Restaurant was well worth the upgrade fee. They offer a fine selection of choice beef cuts, including NY strip, t-bone and fillet mignon. For appetizers, we ordered HUGE jumbo shrimps, oysters Rockefeller (served in a bowl of coarse sea salt) and crabcakes, which were all excellent. The one miscue was the lobster bisque, which was a bit too thick and not very flavourful. The steaks came with a choices of sauces—we ordered poivre and béarnaise and both were excellent. We concluded our meal with cheesecake for dessert and cappuccinos. Service was uniformly excellent. Still not having acclimated fully to the time shift and having missed the performance in the Hollywood theatre we decided to retire early to prepare for our drive on the Road to Hana the next day in Maui
Ahoy the shore from Hawaii (part 2 in a series)
Day 2 Saturday October 10:
Because of the 6 hour time change between Honolulu and Toronto and despite retiring after 24 sleepless hours, we were up bright and early on Saturday morning. We made our way to the Best Western Coconut lobby for breakfast, which was surprising good. Following breakfast we had the desk attendant on duty call us a taxi-cab to make the trip out to Diamond Head. No one noticed that the taxi driver had “forgotten” to switch the metre on, but his charge ($12) seemed within a reasonable range. Diamond Head is the crater of a long extinct volcano and hiking up to its summit is the number one tourist attraction in Honolulu. We wanted to arrive early, not only to beat the crowd but also to beat the heat. We began our ascent around 7:30, purchasing bottled water from the truck at the parking lot, to ensure we stayed hydrated. The hike took approximately three hours round trip, allowing for photo opportunities along the way. Parts of the lower trail are paved, others parts are rubble and dirt and parts of the upper trail require climbing up a flight of 74 concrete stairs, spiral staircases and a 225 long lighted tunnel. The vertical ascent spans 560 feet over a 1.4 km length trail with many switchbacks. The trail was constructed in 1908 as part of the US Army Coastal Artillery defense system.
Once we returned to the bottom of the path we purchased smoothies and shaved fruit ice to cool off. We had to wait 10 minutes for a taxi at the gate to make our return trip to the hotel. When one arrived it already had two passengers in the back seat so two of us had to overcrowd into the front of the vehicle (without seatbelts)! The driver, Lee, quoted a fare of $5 per passenger on top of what he charged his first pair of drop-offs (over $12 on the metre). Lee, upon hearing we would be boarding a cruise ship later in the day, also arranged to return to the hotel to pick us up and drive us to the cruise-ship terminal at 1 PM. It was after 11 PM when we got back to the Coconut. One of us was exhausted from our climb and decided to stay in the room and rest while we other two were intent on setting out to explore Waikiki beach.
After securing directions from our concierge, we set out on foot toward the beach, passing along the Kalakaua Ave exclusive shopping district enroute. We spurned stores like Cartier to shop for parrotwear at Jimmy Buffet’s Margarittaville. We were able to find some good quality t-shirts on the sale racks, ranging in price for $9.99 to $14.99 (plus 4.5% sales tax) and to also receive a third shirt free for every two purchased. Thereafter we cut thru to the beach beside the famous pink-bricked Royal Hawaiian beach resort. The pre noon-time beach was already packed with sun worshippers, bathers and surfers. We removed our footwear to walk barefoot thru the sand for a stretch then made our way up to a table on a beachfront terrace at the Westin Surfrider hotel and ordered refreshing Hawaiian punch cocktails before retracing our steps back along the sand to Kalakaua Ave. Outside the Royal Hawaiian shopping centre galleria on Kalakaua Ave. we paused to purchase some fresh-flowered leis from a kiosk vendor, before heading back to the hotel to rejoin the missing link in our travel party in time to go for a quick and refreshing dip in the hotel pool before Lee (or driver’s) arrival.
We checked out at the lobby just before 1 PM (having previously been granted a 1 hour extension beyond the normal check out time) and met Lee out front. Lee explained he was suffering from a bad back and required assistance loading our luggage in his town car trunk. The ride to the ferry terminal took around 15 minutes and we were promptly met by a bell hop upon alighting from our taxi. As we paid Lee the agreed on $20 fare the bellhop assisted with unloading our bags from Lee’s car and then escorted us to the initial security screening. Unfortunately the bellhop rushed on ahead with bags we intended to carry on (including on that contained a laptop) and one passenger’s boarding e-docs! Fortunately we were able to retrieve the latter in the nick of time (and the former wound up arriving at our stateroom undamaged sometime later). Once inside the terminal building we discovered tow lines-- one reserved for suites and latitude gold members and the second for general boarding. We joined the first inadvertently, not realizing we were Latitudes bronze and not gold members, but were allowed to pass through nevertheless. After the security screening, the next set of lines also separated into three forks-- one for the suites, one for general boarding and one for latitude members. We joined the third and although it was shorter, discovered it moved much more slowly because it only fed to two CSR positions. Nevertheless we were through all stages of the check-in process with half an hour and on our way aboard.
The gangway from the terminal building enters onto the 5th level grand atrium from the terminal building. We were handed our complimentary champagne as we entered and proceeded over to the dinner reservations desk immediately to make table reservations for the Lazy J Texas Steakhouse and Teppanyaki specialty restaurants (for which a $25 upgrade fee applies). Thereafter we proceeded to the elevators where we were informed that the staterooms would not be available until after 2 PM. So we were diverted onto an elevator heading up to the Aloha (buffet style) café on the pool deck to have lunch. It was after 2 PM when we finished our meal so we proceeded to our assigned stateroom (an interior cabin on the 7th floor aft). Thereafter, we conducted a self-directed tour of the ship (she made a “pleasantly surprised’ first impression) and attended part of the “shopping in ports” talk by the shopping consultant cum Latitudes hostess cum future cruise sales director (she wears many hats) in the Hollywood theatre before reporting to our assigned muster station (two levels directly below in the Skyline restaurant) for the mandatory safety drill (which was very painless but which did require passengers to fasten their safety jacket (which you have to drag to/from your room with you). We returned from the safety drill to our stateroom to find our luggage had arrived safely and proceeded to unpack. Closet and drawer space in the stateroom was ample.
After dinner we headed to the Liberty main restaurant for dinner at around 6 PM. We were seated without delay in a section near the aft window. Service was polite and pleasant but with long delays in food arrival between courses. Nevertheless the food temperature and quality was good. Among the entrees our party selected were jerk chicken with plantains and dirty rice, Mahi mahi and salmon from the everyday menu. Dessert selections included a banana soufflé and a Bavarian cream. We passed on coffee in order to make it upstairs to the upper decks to enjoy the “lights of Honolulu” sailaway. Thereafter, still acclimating to the time shift, we adjourned to our staterooms to retire for our first evening.
Still to come: Our day in Hilo at Volcano National Park
Because of the 6 hour time change between Honolulu and Toronto and despite retiring after 24 sleepless hours, we were up bright and early on Saturday morning. We made our way to the Best Western Coconut lobby for breakfast, which was surprising good. Following breakfast we had the desk attendant on duty call us a taxi-cab to make the trip out to Diamond Head. No one noticed that the taxi driver had “forgotten” to switch the metre on, but his charge ($12) seemed within a reasonable range. Diamond Head is the crater of a long extinct volcano and hiking up to its summit is the number one tourist attraction in Honolulu. We wanted to arrive early, not only to beat the crowd but also to beat the heat. We began our ascent around 7:30, purchasing bottled water from the truck at the parking lot, to ensure we stayed hydrated. The hike took approximately three hours round trip, allowing for photo opportunities along the way. Parts of the lower trail are paved, others parts are rubble and dirt and parts of the upper trail require climbing up a flight of 74 concrete stairs, spiral staircases and a 225 long lighted tunnel. The vertical ascent spans 560 feet over a 1.4 km length trail with many switchbacks. The trail was constructed in 1908 as part of the US Army Coastal Artillery defense system.
Once we returned to the bottom of the path we purchased smoothies and shaved fruit ice to cool off. We had to wait 10 minutes for a taxi at the gate to make our return trip to the hotel. When one arrived it already had two passengers in the back seat so two of us had to overcrowd into the front of the vehicle (without seatbelts)! The driver, Lee, quoted a fare of $5 per passenger on top of what he charged his first pair of drop-offs (over $12 on the metre). Lee, upon hearing we would be boarding a cruise ship later in the day, also arranged to return to the hotel to pick us up and drive us to the cruise-ship terminal at 1 PM. It was after 11 PM when we got back to the Coconut. One of us was exhausted from our climb and decided to stay in the room and rest while we other two were intent on setting out to explore Waikiki beach.
After securing directions from our concierge, we set out on foot toward the beach, passing along the Kalakaua Ave exclusive shopping district enroute. We spurned stores like Cartier to shop for parrotwear at Jimmy Buffet’s Margarittaville. We were able to find some good quality t-shirts on the sale racks, ranging in price for $9.99 to $14.99 (plus 4.5% sales tax) and to also receive a third shirt free for every two purchased. Thereafter we cut thru to the beach beside the famous pink-bricked Royal Hawaiian beach resort. The pre noon-time beach was already packed with sun worshippers, bathers and surfers. We removed our footwear to walk barefoot thru the sand for a stretch then made our way up to a table on a beachfront terrace at the Westin Surfrider hotel and ordered refreshing Hawaiian punch cocktails before retracing our steps back along the sand to Kalakaua Ave. Outside the Royal Hawaiian shopping centre galleria on Kalakaua Ave. we paused to purchase some fresh-flowered leis from a kiosk vendor, before heading back to the hotel to rejoin the missing link in our travel party in time to go for a quick and refreshing dip in the hotel pool before Lee (or driver’s) arrival.
We checked out at the lobby just before 1 PM (having previously been granted a 1 hour extension beyond the normal check out time) and met Lee out front. Lee explained he was suffering from a bad back and required assistance loading our luggage in his town car trunk. The ride to the ferry terminal took around 15 minutes and we were promptly met by a bell hop upon alighting from our taxi. As we paid Lee the agreed on $20 fare the bellhop assisted with unloading our bags from Lee’s car and then escorted us to the initial security screening. Unfortunately the bellhop rushed on ahead with bags we intended to carry on (including on that contained a laptop) and one passenger’s boarding e-docs! Fortunately we were able to retrieve the latter in the nick of time (and the former wound up arriving at our stateroom undamaged sometime later). Once inside the terminal building we discovered tow lines-- one reserved for suites and latitude gold members and the second for general boarding. We joined the first inadvertently, not realizing we were Latitudes bronze and not gold members, but were allowed to pass through nevertheless. After the security screening, the next set of lines also separated into three forks-- one for the suites, one for general boarding and one for latitude members. We joined the third and although it was shorter, discovered it moved much more slowly because it only fed to two CSR positions. Nevertheless we were through all stages of the check-in process with half an hour and on our way aboard.
The gangway from the terminal building enters onto the 5th level grand atrium from the terminal building. We were handed our complimentary champagne as we entered and proceeded over to the dinner reservations desk immediately to make table reservations for the Lazy J Texas Steakhouse and Teppanyaki specialty restaurants (for which a $25 upgrade fee applies). Thereafter we proceeded to the elevators where we were informed that the staterooms would not be available until after 2 PM. So we were diverted onto an elevator heading up to the Aloha (buffet style) café on the pool deck to have lunch. It was after 2 PM when we finished our meal so we proceeded to our assigned stateroom (an interior cabin on the 7th floor aft). Thereafter, we conducted a self-directed tour of the ship (she made a “pleasantly surprised’ first impression) and attended part of the “shopping in ports” talk by the shopping consultant cum Latitudes hostess cum future cruise sales director (she wears many hats) in the Hollywood theatre before reporting to our assigned muster station (two levels directly below in the Skyline restaurant) for the mandatory safety drill (which was very painless but which did require passengers to fasten their safety jacket (which you have to drag to/from your room with you). We returned from the safety drill to our stateroom to find our luggage had arrived safely and proceeded to unpack. Closet and drawer space in the stateroom was ample.
After dinner we headed to the Liberty main restaurant for dinner at around 6 PM. We were seated without delay in a section near the aft window. Service was polite and pleasant but with long delays in food arrival between courses. Nevertheless the food temperature and quality was good. Among the entrees our party selected were jerk chicken with plantains and dirty rice, Mahi mahi and salmon from the everyday menu. Dessert selections included a banana soufflé and a Bavarian cream. We passed on coffee in order to make it upstairs to the upper decks to enjoy the “lights of Honolulu” sailaway. Thereafter, still acclimating to the time shift, we adjourned to our staterooms to retire for our first evening.
Still to come: Our day in Hilo at Volcano National Park
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Imprisoned at sea!
This very annoying (from my perspective) interruption to my Hawaiian cruise series blog is brought to you by the NCL America line's Pride of America medical department acting under the auspices of the US Centre for Disease Control (“CDC”).
I boarded a Hawaiian island-hopper cruise aboard the NCL Pride of America at the port in Honolulu on Saturday October 10th. I am traveling in a group with two others. At embarkation, we were presented with the standard issue medical questionnaire and since all of us were feeling well, we answered all of the questions honestly, disclosing no known symptoms of nausea or upper respiratory infections. However, several days later, on Tuesday October 13th, after several days of suffering with cold/flu like symptoms (of increasing severity), one member of our travel party reported to the medical centre sick bay around 9:00 AM for treatment by the on duty attending physician—Dr. Ali Yasser.
The other two of us in our travel party reported with her to lend our support and waited for her in the medical centre reception area. About half an hour after arrival there and following an examination, the two of us waiting in the reception were ushered in to join the patient in an examination room. We were advised that our patient had tested positive for Influenza A and would be confined to her stateroom under quarantine for 5 days (until Saturday morning). We were also advised that, even though we had not been sharing a common stateroom with her (our cabins were separated by three decks, hers forward, ours aft), because we had been in contact with her (within 6 ft), enroute to the ship, at the dinner table and on our port excursions that we were also under suspicion of being of being infected with the Influenza A virus and would have to undergo testing. We submitted to the testing voluntarily. It took about 12 minutes to get the test results. Our two tests came back negative.
Despite receiving the negative test results for two of us, after checking with head office by phone, Dr. Yasser returned to advise us that we would also have to submit to quarantine and be confined to our cabin for at least three days (until Friday morning). We were further advised that we would also have to submit to re-testing for fever / the virus on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings (nurse visits) before being released from quarantine. If we test positive on these subsequent occasions, our stateroom quarantine could be extended until Saturday as well.
As an alternative to stateroom quarantine we were offered the opportunity to debark the ship and to fly home or to make independent arrangements for accommodations on shore and flight arrangements to re-join the ship in port on Friday morning. Because of the incremental costs making that choice would entail, that was really not a viable alternative for us, so we quickly rejected it. After that, we were given respiratory filter masks to place over our noses and mouths, which we were told to don. We were then told to return to our cabins. We made our way unescorted from medical to our staterooms through the general passenger hallways and elevators. Of course, there were many questions to answer from inquiring passengers and crew that we met along our path from the 3rd deck to the 7th.
Once we were back in our staterooms we were contacted by Charles, the head room steward, who made arrangements to relocate us from the staterooms that had originally occupied (inside cabin on a the 7th deck) to balcony staterooms on the 10th deck (presumably on the assumption that having access to an open air balcony and sunlight would make a 72 hour in-cabin “house arrest” more tolerable). We also had to make arrangements for crew members to return a rental car that we had parked near the ship in port parking that we were required to return to Thrifty by 3:30.
Dr. Yasser made a subsequent visit to our staterooms to conduct a quick routine ear nose and throat examination. We then packed our clothes and moved up to our new staterooms. Since then, we have not left our room. We have had to call in all our meal orders for room service delivery. The room service menu is much more limited than dining room menus, however we have been supplied with dining room menus to order dinner from between 5:30 PM and 10:00 PM. Our stateroom attendant has come by to exchange linens and provide us with ice but to date has not entered our stateroom to clean.
As for activities to occupy ourselves in our room, the options are very limited. Other than staring out at the ports (wonder what fun we are missing out on a shore) there is a small TV set (with a snowy picture) and we have our laptops along. We have been using our laptops to review digital photos we took from our first few days on freedom on the cruise and to browse the internet. We have requested a credit to defray the high costs of web surfing at sea and were advised that our request would be forwarded to a senior passenger service crew member but so far no one has contacted us to follow up on our open request, 18 hours later.
In short, this is an experience I would not wish on my worst enemy… a heartbreaking way to have a dream vacation suddenly unravel. While I understand there is a need for the ship to be cautious and follow CDC protocols to protect the health of other crew and passengers and prevent a mass flu outbreak on board, particularly when H1N1 is expected to return with a vengeance this flu season, I do take exception to how our situation has been handled so far. No one has asked us what crew and/or passengers we may have had interaction with in the ships restaurants, lounges or excursion buses to contact them for testing. Also passenger services has not been especially pro-active in contacting us to ensure we are comfortable while suffering under “house arrest”. No one has offered to run to the library to check out books for us to read or to run to the games room to get us board-games to play to while our hours of incarceration away. No one offered us an on-board credit to defray the cost of purchasing internet packages (or even responded back to our inquiry with respect to that (quite reasonable) request- we had to call passenger services back later). Likewise, our outstanding requests to replace a broken coffee-maker and a room service menu have gone unresolved for a prolonged period.
I also now understand why the balcony stateroom that is our jailhouse went un-booked earlier. It is located directly under the pool-deck, which creates two problems: first, the edge of the deck protrudes to overhang the balcony—while this enhances shade, shelter and privacy, it limits the amount of sun you get and also creates noise problems as deck furniture is re-shuffled for events at dawn and dusk.
I will post further updates as our quarantine progresses, presuming my “condition” doesn’t suddenly deteriorate such that I am unable to sit up and write…
For now I am signing off from the MS Prison of Aloha
I boarded a Hawaiian island-hopper cruise aboard the NCL Pride of America at the port in Honolulu on Saturday October 10th. I am traveling in a group with two others. At embarkation, we were presented with the standard issue medical questionnaire and since all of us were feeling well, we answered all of the questions honestly, disclosing no known symptoms of nausea or upper respiratory infections. However, several days later, on Tuesday October 13th, after several days of suffering with cold/flu like symptoms (of increasing severity), one member of our travel party reported to the medical centre sick bay around 9:00 AM for treatment by the on duty attending physician—Dr. Ali Yasser.
The other two of us in our travel party reported with her to lend our support and waited for her in the medical centre reception area. About half an hour after arrival there and following an examination, the two of us waiting in the reception were ushered in to join the patient in an examination room. We were advised that our patient had tested positive for Influenza A and would be confined to her stateroom under quarantine for 5 days (until Saturday morning). We were also advised that, even though we had not been sharing a common stateroom with her (our cabins were separated by three decks, hers forward, ours aft), because we had been in contact with her (within 6 ft), enroute to the ship, at the dinner table and on our port excursions that we were also under suspicion of being of being infected with the Influenza A virus and would have to undergo testing. We submitted to the testing voluntarily. It took about 12 minutes to get the test results. Our two tests came back negative.
Despite receiving the negative test results for two of us, after checking with head office by phone, Dr. Yasser returned to advise us that we would also have to submit to quarantine and be confined to our cabin for at least three days (until Friday morning). We were further advised that we would also have to submit to re-testing for fever / the virus on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings (nurse visits) before being released from quarantine. If we test positive on these subsequent occasions, our stateroom quarantine could be extended until Saturday as well.
As an alternative to stateroom quarantine we were offered the opportunity to debark the ship and to fly home or to make independent arrangements for accommodations on shore and flight arrangements to re-join the ship in port on Friday morning. Because of the incremental costs making that choice would entail, that was really not a viable alternative for us, so we quickly rejected it. After that, we were given respiratory filter masks to place over our noses and mouths, which we were told to don. We were then told to return to our cabins. We made our way unescorted from medical to our staterooms through the general passenger hallways and elevators. Of course, there were many questions to answer from inquiring passengers and crew that we met along our path from the 3rd deck to the 7th.
Once we were back in our staterooms we were contacted by Charles, the head room steward, who made arrangements to relocate us from the staterooms that had originally occupied (inside cabin on a the 7th deck) to balcony staterooms on the 10th deck (presumably on the assumption that having access to an open air balcony and sunlight would make a 72 hour in-cabin “house arrest” more tolerable). We also had to make arrangements for crew members to return a rental car that we had parked near the ship in port parking that we were required to return to Thrifty by 3:30.
Dr. Yasser made a subsequent visit to our staterooms to conduct a quick routine ear nose and throat examination. We then packed our clothes and moved up to our new staterooms. Since then, we have not left our room. We have had to call in all our meal orders for room service delivery. The room service menu is much more limited than dining room menus, however we have been supplied with dining room menus to order dinner from between 5:30 PM and 10:00 PM. Our stateroom attendant has come by to exchange linens and provide us with ice but to date has not entered our stateroom to clean.
As for activities to occupy ourselves in our room, the options are very limited. Other than staring out at the ports (wonder what fun we are missing out on a shore) there is a small TV set (with a snowy picture) and we have our laptops along. We have been using our laptops to review digital photos we took from our first few days on freedom on the cruise and to browse the internet. We have requested a credit to defray the high costs of web surfing at sea and were advised that our request would be forwarded to a senior passenger service crew member but so far no one has contacted us to follow up on our open request, 18 hours later.
In short, this is an experience I would not wish on my worst enemy… a heartbreaking way to have a dream vacation suddenly unravel. While I understand there is a need for the ship to be cautious and follow CDC protocols to protect the health of other crew and passengers and prevent a mass flu outbreak on board, particularly when H1N1 is expected to return with a vengeance this flu season, I do take exception to how our situation has been handled so far. No one has asked us what crew and/or passengers we may have had interaction with in the ships restaurants, lounges or excursion buses to contact them for testing. Also passenger services has not been especially pro-active in contacting us to ensure we are comfortable while suffering under “house arrest”. No one has offered to run to the library to check out books for us to read or to run to the games room to get us board-games to play to while our hours of incarceration away. No one offered us an on-board credit to defray the cost of purchasing internet packages (or even responded back to our inquiry with respect to that (quite reasonable) request- we had to call passenger services back later). Likewise, our outstanding requests to replace a broken coffee-maker and a room service menu have gone unresolved for a prolonged period.
I also now understand why the balcony stateroom that is our jailhouse went un-booked earlier. It is located directly under the pool-deck, which creates two problems: first, the edge of the deck protrudes to overhang the balcony—while this enhances shade, shelter and privacy, it limits the amount of sun you get and also creates noise problems as deck furniture is re-shuffled for events at dawn and dusk.
I will post further updates as our quarantine progresses, presuming my “condition” doesn’t suddenly deteriorate such that I am unable to sit up and write…
For now I am signing off from the MS Prison of Aloha
Ahoy the shore from Hawaii (part 1 in a series)
Day one: Friday October 9
I am currently traveling with a group of three (along with Gary and his sister Cathy), making my first trip to the Hawaiian island group. We are on a 7 night cruise of the Hawaiian islands aboard the NCL cruise line’s Pride of America. We left our Toronto apartment at the crack of dawn on Friday October 9th in order to make our 7 AM flight to Vancouver’s YVR airport, aboard Air Canada. Check-in at Pearson went without a hitch. The 767 was fully loaded but boarding went smoothly and our flight remained on time. The seatbacks were equipped with a VOD system and I watched “My Sisters Keeper” (featuring Cameron Diaz)—a real tear jerker and the intense Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” (excellent).
We had arranged our travel plans so we had an 8 hour stopover in Vancouver to tour and stretch our legs before begin the second leg of our flight to Honolulu. We picked up our rental car—a Toyota Corolla sedan from Thrifty—at the airport and were soon on our way. Unfortunately, enroute from YVR airport to the city, a wide load truck carrying a heavy load of stone sideswiped us on the drivers’ side knocking off the back of the rear view mirror. The driver—a 22 year old kid--- didn’t even realize that he had hit us and continued along. I was in the passenger seat and so jumped at the next red light intersection to confront him. He pulled over to the side, admitted he was at fault and we were able to get his name, company name and vitals to lay a claim for damages.
Thereafter we proceeded on to Stanley Park. We stopped in the park at a few points--- the aquarium, the prospect point look-out near the Lions Gate Bridge (where we had lunch), near the totem poles / sea wall / lighthouse and finally at the tea house (where we enjoyed afternoon tea). Lunch ot the Stanley point deck was delicious. Gary ordered a cheeseburger with a smokey and peameal bacon and fries. Cathy ordered a club sandwich and I had haddock fish & chips. At the teahouse Cathy had a cup of Earl Gray tea, Gary had a chocolate mouse and I ordered a poma-tini (a cosmopolitan type martini with pomegranate juice substituted for cranberry). Before we knew it, it was time to head back to YVR to catch our flight! We reported the damage to the rear-view mirror when we turned the rental car in, passed on the information we had collected from the at fault driver and were advised that a claims agent would be in later touch.
The second leg of our flight from YVR to HNL was also aboard a 767 and was similarly crowded. On this leg of the journey, I used the seatback VOD system, I watched the comedy The Hangover (about a bachelor party in Vegas gone wrong) and an interesting feature documentary (Art and Copy) about the advertising business.
By the time we arrived at HNL we had been awake for over 20 hours and were feeling quite groggy. After collecting our luggage from the carousel (it all arrived in one piece) we caught our cab to the hotel—the Best Western Coconut-- we had booked for a single night pre-cruise to catch some shut eye. The hotel was surprisingly clean and tastefully decorated for a Best Western, although the mattresses were a bit on the soft and lumpy side. We retired around 10 PM, exhausted, to ensure we would rise in time to get out to Diamond Head around dawn to begin our hike to the summit.
Still to come—Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach stroll, Embarking the NCL Pride of America
I am currently traveling with a group of three (along with Gary and his sister Cathy), making my first trip to the Hawaiian island group. We are on a 7 night cruise of the Hawaiian islands aboard the NCL cruise line’s Pride of America. We left our Toronto apartment at the crack of dawn on Friday October 9th in order to make our 7 AM flight to Vancouver’s YVR airport, aboard Air Canada. Check-in at Pearson went without a hitch. The 767 was fully loaded but boarding went smoothly and our flight remained on time. The seatbacks were equipped with a VOD system and I watched “My Sisters Keeper” (featuring Cameron Diaz)—a real tear jerker and the intense Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” (excellent).
We had arranged our travel plans so we had an 8 hour stopover in Vancouver to tour and stretch our legs before begin the second leg of our flight to Honolulu. We picked up our rental car—a Toyota Corolla sedan from Thrifty—at the airport and were soon on our way. Unfortunately, enroute from YVR airport to the city, a wide load truck carrying a heavy load of stone sideswiped us on the drivers’ side knocking off the back of the rear view mirror. The driver—a 22 year old kid--- didn’t even realize that he had hit us and continued along. I was in the passenger seat and so jumped at the next red light intersection to confront him. He pulled over to the side, admitted he was at fault and we were able to get his name, company name and vitals to lay a claim for damages.
Thereafter we proceeded on to Stanley Park. We stopped in the park at a few points--- the aquarium, the prospect point look-out near the Lions Gate Bridge (where we had lunch), near the totem poles / sea wall / lighthouse and finally at the tea house (where we enjoyed afternoon tea). Lunch ot the Stanley point deck was delicious. Gary ordered a cheeseburger with a smokey and peameal bacon and fries. Cathy ordered a club sandwich and I had haddock fish & chips. At the teahouse Cathy had a cup of Earl Gray tea, Gary had a chocolate mouse and I ordered a poma-tini (a cosmopolitan type martini with pomegranate juice substituted for cranberry). Before we knew it, it was time to head back to YVR to catch our flight! We reported the damage to the rear-view mirror when we turned the rental car in, passed on the information we had collected from the at fault driver and were advised that a claims agent would be in later touch.
The second leg of our flight from YVR to HNL was also aboard a 767 and was similarly crowded. On this leg of the journey, I used the seatback VOD system, I watched the comedy The Hangover (about a bachelor party in Vegas gone wrong) and an interesting feature documentary (Art and Copy) about the advertising business.
By the time we arrived at HNL we had been awake for over 20 hours and were feeling quite groggy. After collecting our luggage from the carousel (it all arrived in one piece) we caught our cab to the hotel—the Best Western Coconut-- we had booked for a single night pre-cruise to catch some shut eye. The hotel was surprisingly clean and tastefully decorated for a Best Western, although the mattresses were a bit on the soft and lumpy side. We retired around 10 PM, exhausted, to ensure we would rise in time to get out to Diamond Head around dawn to begin our hike to the summit.
Still to come—Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach stroll, Embarking the NCL Pride of America
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Ahoy the shore from Alaska (last in a series)
I have been home from our family cruise vacation for almost a week now... how time flies! I have been too busy (until now) to wrap up my travel journal entries. In prior installments of this series, I had outlined our experiences on the Norwegian Pearl cruiseship, our adventures in our departure port of Seattle and in the Alaskan cruise port towns of Juneau and Skagway. In this final report in the series, I will outline our visits to our final Alaskan port of Ketchikan, our final port in Victoria British Columbia, share my final impressions on the NCL Pearl and comment on the debarkation process.
Glacial Bay (Thursday September 3rd):
In between porting at Skagway and Ketchikan we enjoyed a second day at sea that included scenic cruising through Glacial Bay National Park. We entered Glacial Bay at Bartlett point early in the morning. Glacier Bay is a US National Park (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) comprised of 3.3 million acres of mountains, glaciers and forests. A park ranger boarding the ship at 7 AM to offer live commentary in the Spinnaker lounge for broadcast over the PA system throughout the balance of the day. We were late rising and we were already well into the Bay by the time we surfaced to the pool deck for breakfast. We were able to find a breakfast table at the Great Outdoors cafe at the rear of the ship to watch the glaciers. There was one particularly large tidewater glacier that towered high above the ships' upper decks and the rails were crowded with groups seeking pictures against this stunning backdrop. We managed to insinuate ourselves along the railing long enough to get a few good camera shots. You could actually feel the air temperature drop as we drew in closer, drawing within 100 yards of the glacier. The ranger commentary continued until about NOON, by which time we were already heading back along the fjords to more open seas to chart our course for Ketchikan.
In the evening we attended a pre-dinner theatre show starring Shark Bait-- two former Barnum and Bailey circus clowns-- a dou that entertain with a highly imaginative comic juggling / balancing act that features extended audience participation segments. It was far and away the best show of the cruise. Thereafter, we headed to the promenade deck in time to make our dinner reservations at the Teppanyaki area of the Lotus Garden Asian themed restaurant. There are four cooking tables in the Teppanyaki area, two of which are active at every dinner seating (with reservations taken for every half hour.) A total of 8 persons fit around each grilling table. We shared our table with an Asian family of four from Long Island, NY. For appetizers we were served Miso soup, salted sugar snap peas and seaweed salad with a ginger dressing. Available entrees included Chicken Yakosoba, Seafood Diablo (Lobster, Calamari and Sea Scallops) , Fillet Mignon and combos like Samarai (Chicken and Jumbo Shrimp), Land 'n Sea (Steak and Jumbo Shrimp), Shogun (Steak and Chicken Breast) and Shinto (Scallops and Jumbo Shrimp). All of the entrees were expertly grillde for our entertainment by our chef and were served with garlic rice and teppanyaki veggies. Our chef juggled knives and caught eggs in his chef's hat for our amusement. For dessert we chose of a mocchi ice cream duo or fresh fruit sashimi.
Immediately after dinner, we headed to the Spinnaker lounge to watch the "Dancing with the Stars" gameshow. Hosted by cruise director Julie, the show featured a judging panel that included the assistant cruise director and two second city members. Meanwhile, backstage "elimination" interviews were conducted by another SS troupe member. The competing pairs featured cruise staff "stars" partnered with fellow passengers. Every round featured a different dance step and the elimination of one pair, until only three couples were left standing for the finals. Ironically, the dance captain of the Jean Ann Ryan dancers was the lead of the first eliminated pair. Overall, this gameshow was easily the most thoroughly entertaining of the entire cruise.
Glacial Bay (Thursday September 3rd):
In between porting at Skagway and Ketchikan we enjoyed a second day at sea that included scenic cruising through Glacial Bay National Park. We entered Glacial Bay at Bartlett point early in the morning. Glacier Bay is a US National Park (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) comprised of 3.3 million acres of mountains, glaciers and forests. A park ranger boarding the ship at 7 AM to offer live commentary in the Spinnaker lounge for broadcast over the PA system throughout the balance of the day. We were late rising and we were already well into the Bay by the time we surfaced to the pool deck for breakfast. We were able to find a breakfast table at the Great Outdoors cafe at the rear of the ship to watch the glaciers. There was one particularly large tidewater glacier that towered high above the ships' upper decks and the rails were crowded with groups seeking pictures against this stunning backdrop. We managed to insinuate ourselves along the railing long enough to get a few good camera shots. You could actually feel the air temperature drop as we drew in closer, drawing within 100 yards of the glacier. The ranger commentary continued until about NOON, by which time we were already heading back along the fjords to more open seas to chart our course for Ketchikan.
In the evening we attended a pre-dinner theatre show starring Shark Bait-- two former Barnum and Bailey circus clowns-- a dou that entertain with a highly imaginative comic juggling / balancing act that features extended audience participation segments. It was far and away the best show of the cruise. Thereafter, we headed to the promenade deck in time to make our dinner reservations at the Teppanyaki area of the Lotus Garden Asian themed restaurant. There are four cooking tables in the Teppanyaki area, two of which are active at every dinner seating (with reservations taken for every half hour.) A total of 8 persons fit around each grilling table. We shared our table with an Asian family of four from Long Island, NY. For appetizers we were served Miso soup, salted sugar snap peas and seaweed salad with a ginger dressing. Available entrees included Chicken Yakosoba, Seafood Diablo (Lobster, Calamari and Sea Scallops) , Fillet Mignon and combos like Samarai (Chicken and Jumbo Shrimp), Land 'n Sea (Steak and Jumbo Shrimp), Shogun (Steak and Chicken Breast) and Shinto (Scallops and Jumbo Shrimp). All of the entrees were expertly grillde for our entertainment by our chef and were served with garlic rice and teppanyaki veggies. Our chef juggled knives and caught eggs in his chef's hat for our amusement. For dessert we chose of a mocchi ice cream duo or fresh fruit sashimi.
Immediately after dinner, we headed to the Spinnaker lounge to watch the "Dancing with the Stars" gameshow. Hosted by cruise director Julie, the show featured a judging panel that included the assistant cruise director and two second city members. Meanwhile, backstage "elimination" interviews were conducted by another SS troupe member. The competing pairs featured cruise staff "stars" partnered with fellow passengers. Every round featured a different dance step and the elimination of one pair, until only three couples were left standing for the finals. Ironically, the dance captain of the Jean Ann Ryan dancers was the lead of the first eliminated pair. Overall, this gameshow was easily the most thoroughly entertaining of the entire cruise.
Ketchikan (Friday September 4th)
We awoke very early in Ketchikan because we wanted to see the town and do some shopping at the "end of season" sales before reporting dockside for our "Driver's Seat" motorized inflatable boat tour excursion. We walked up into town in a light morning rain and then up an incline to see the salmon run up the river at a lookout and the native totems displays. Another popular attraction in Ketchikan is the lumberjack show, but we passed on that. Thereafter, we weaved our way back through the town to the shore to meet our shore excursion director. Unfortunately, he had some bad news to share with us-- our excursion had been cancelled on account of high winds. Fortunately, he referred us to another tour promoter who was able to arrange a 90 minute flight for us on a Beaver floatplane for a reasonable discounted rate of $179 pp. The Beaver floatplane (built in Toronto at Downsview in 1955) was owned by Southeast Aviation and piloted by Captain Mark (its former owner, who makes his Winter home in Seattle). The flight took us over the saltwater "misty fjord" outside of Kitchikan. We flew up over soaring cliffs, glaciers and millions of trees, setting down mid-flight in the water at a floating platform. The views were breathtaking, although we encountered some turbulence on the way out that left at least one passenger onboard motion sick. We were all equipped with headphones and mikes to allow us to stay in contact with Captain Mark, who was happy to answer questions and provide commentary. Overall, the excursion offered excellent value, as a last minute substitute!
We re-boarded the ship in time for a buffet lunch at the Garden Cafe and then enjoyed a leisurely afternoon before sailaway. Again, we went to a pre-dinner show this time featuring the Jean Ann Ryan company in a performance of "Garden of the Geisha"-- a Japanese period / costume performance that made excellent use of a Polish acrobatic duo. Thereafter, we had dinner in the Mambo's latin restaurant on the 8th deck (above the Cyrstal Atrium, across from the 24 hour Blue Lagoon cafe). This specialty restaurant was advertised as offering both tex-mex and tapas dishes, but the emphasis was definitely on the former. There were tortilla chips already on the table when we arrived and everyone received a complimentary first margarita (lime, available in an either a frozen or "on the rocks" variation and without alcohol for the children) We had grande nachos as a table appetizer while many in our group opted for chicken quesadillas for their personal apps. For my personal app I ordered taquitos, which is pulled pork with refried beans, jack cheese and ranchero sauce. For the main course, the most popular choice was fajitas but I ordered BBQ pork ribs. Invariably, most menu items came served with a trio of guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo. There were some temperature issues with the food served at Mambos (more warm than piping hot). However, the ambience was enhanced by the music of the Wildfire duo (featuring a male guitarist and female fiddler) performing in the Crystal Atrium below. Following dinner we attend the Lairs Club gameshow in Spinakers, where a panel of ship celebrities (including comedian Tim Kaminski, Cruise Director Julie and the Skarkbait duo) offered alternate comic definitions of obscure words, challenging the audience to identify who was telling the truth. The Pearl version of this show was passably entertaining but not the best I have seen at sea. Before retiring for the evening, the kids surprised me with birthday balloons and gifts, catching me off guard, since it was already my birthday (the clock having ticked over to midnight)!
Victoria, BC (Saturday September 5th)
Most of this day was spent at sea, although we did have a late-day port in Victoria at 6 PM (until midnight). After rising, two of us attended the captain's talk in the Stardust theatre, where Julie and the Captain presented a formal presentation on the Pearl and the life of her crew / staff at sea and then took Q&A. We then grabbed a quick bite in the Garden Cafe, taking our plates to La Cucina, which functions as buffet overflow seating at breakfast and dinner, to consume. We found time to pack our bags mid-day (although they didn't have to be set out for collection until between 10 Pm and 2 AM) before heading to the Stardust Theatre for the International Talent Show-- a showcase for the talents of the show's crew. The show opened with a performance of "Proud Mary" by a Filipino rock band. It also featured two male Filipino solo vocalists (one who was outstanding performing "This is the Moment", from the Broadway show Jeckyl and Hyde), a sound technician performing a guitar solo, four women performing a Polynesian folk dance and a deck hand preforming a female impersonator lip sync routine to "Its Raining Men". The performance concluded with the expected (and always hilarious (not to mention wet)) performance of "Fountains" by the cruise director's crew!
Immediately after the show, we headed to the Summer Garden for our final dinner of the cruise. English style prime rib dinner was the popular entree choice, while I had the catch of the day again. At dessert (in addition to the souffle I ordered) I was served a very large birthday cake to share as some of the dining room staff serenaded me with the "Happy Birthday" chorus. We were already sailing into Victoria Harbour by the time our dinner concluded. We debarked in Victoria alongside the Star Princess. There were several options for making the commute into town from the pier, including shuttle buses, water taxis and pedicabs. We elected to share a taxi, which was a very reasonable fixed fare of $7 each way. It was already twilight when we reached town. We spent about 90 minutes strolling around the grounds of the provincial legislature building (Victoria is the capital of the province of British Columbia), the old Fairmount Empress hotel (linked to the Convention Centre) and the inner harbour. There was a jazz festival and folk arts market happening at the inner harbour. Following that self-directed tour, we walked up Governmnt St., past the Bay department store, stopping to purchase some delicious gellato in ChinaTown, a jade "inikshuk" native sculpture and a book at Monroe's bookstore. Then we walked back through Bastion Square to the inner harbor along Wharf St. We re-boarded the ship around 10 PM in time to set out our bags for collection and to head to the Spinnakers lounge for the "Open Mike" Joker's Wild Night (hosted again by the ubiquitous Tim Kaminski), followed by the (uneven) Second City improv demonstration. Thereafter, we retired to our stateroom for our final night onboard the Pearl.
Debarkation and flight home (Sunday September 7th):
Not wanting to be laden down with luggage and with our flight not departing SEA airport until 12:30, we decided to opt out of the "easy walk off" self-debarkation option. Instead, we set out bags out for collection the night before. The pattern of debarkation was from the top decks down so we were in the lime colour group (designated for "independent guests" in staterooms on levels 4/5) with an approximate debarkation time of 9:30. Before debarkation and breakfast, we had time to complete a final "video tour" of the ship and finally made it to the bridge observation deck on 11 (in time to see Julie making the PA call for an early colour group). Then we enjoyed our final meal of the cruise in La Cucina, selecting our breakfast items from the Great Outdoors grille with our carry on lugagge table side. We sailed through Customs, easily found our bags in the terminal and were able to get a standard sized taxi without wait (the cabbie was initially reluctant to stow 4 passengers with luggage but capitulated when he realized it was a big fare to the airport). We had no incidents with security or boarding our plane at Seattle airport. I was able to find a lounge seat adjacent to an AC outlet to download some JPG files to my laptop. Although the plane was jammed packed, the flight was comfortable. Most of us watched "The Proposal" (a comedy starring Sandra Bullock, ironically set in an Alaskan town) on the seat-back VOD service enroute back home. Once home we also sailed through the Canada Customs declaration and lugage claim process. The limo service did not send the same car and driver for or return trip home but the van was spacious and we arrived swiftly and safely. All in all, it was a great family vacation!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Ahoy the shore from Alaska (5th in a series)
Day 4 Skagway:
Our second Alaskan port of call was Skagway—a town made famous by the Gold Rush. We had a busy day arranged in Skagway having booked two excursions through NCL. Our first tour departed one half hour after we reached port at 7:00. So we rose early at 6:00 AM, ate an express breakfast at the (24 hour) Blue Lagoon Café and were on shore in time to meet Jen-- our main guide for our morning glacial point wilderness safari.
We boarded a bus at the port which took us out to The Spirit—a high speed catamaran. After boarding, it was expertly guided (by Captain John Smith) down river (past Haines) on a 40 minute cruise along a deep wide fjord to our beach destination. There we boarded “off road safari vehicles” (aka re-purposed school buses) to reach a river-side dressing area where we were outfitted in boots, extra layers of outer wear and life vests. Thereafter, riverside, we were assigned to one of four 31 foot canoes, each holding 8 to 11 persons. Our canoe, captained by a guide named Teresa and nicknamed Team Brown Bear, had 4 other paddlers in addition to us. After paddling leisurely (albeit against the river current) for 15 or 20 minutes and reaching a certain point cut-over point, Teresa ripped the cord on the outboard motor to power us through the ice flows for a closer look at the Glacier Point ice formations. She even scooped up a small ice flow from the river to pass around the canoe. After a few minutes maneuvering us in front of the glacier, we reversed course and headed back downstream. On the return catamaran trip we were served a tasty box lunch consisting of a turkey mini-sub, sun chips, some carrot sticks, a massive chocolate chip cookies and bottled water.
We arrived back in town around 1 PM and spent about an hour watching salmon running upstream and shopping in the town shops. The Skagway streets are laid out in a logical grid pattern with Broadway being the main arterial road running from our port at the southern end of town and intersected by numbered avenues. At 2:30 new headed back to the ship for two hours of down time before setting out on our 2nd excursion of the day.
At 4:30 PM in the afternoon we boarded a White Pass and Yukon railway car for our round trip 21 mile evening summit ride to at an elevation of 2,865 ft. The hi-lights along the route included a gold rush cemetery, rocky point, bridal veil falls and inspiration point. We also passed through two tunnels and passed an old steel cantilever bridge (now de-commissioned) built in 1901. Most of the best views were on the left hand side of the car (both coming and going, as the seats simply reverse when you reach the summit and the engine re-hooks to the other end of the car to begin the descent leg. You are permitted to go outside the cars to snap photos on the platforms between the cars during the trip but are not permitted to walk between them.
Two advantages of the evening summit over the rides earlier in the day are that the cars tend to be less crowded and that the later afternoon lighting conditions are more camera-friendly. Following our return to the Skagway station we returned immediately to the ship.
Rather than dining immediately upon our return, our group (minus one—moi) decided to take in the 8:45 Second City scripted comedy show in the Stardust theatre. That pushed our dinner out to 9:45. As the Summer Garden closes at 9:30, that left us no anytime dining option other than to return to Indigo for a second night. The advantage of late dining there was that there was no wait time. The disadvantage was that by the end of the meal we were one of only 3 remaining parties dining and we felt like we were in the way as staff scurried all around us re-setting the room for an art auction event that was to take place in the venue later in the evening.
Despite this, both the meal and the service were better than one night earlier. The popular app was the onion soup, while the entrée selections included a Thai noodle dish, roast turkey and tilapia. Our dessert entrees included a mocha flavoured cream filled layer cake and blueberry crumble (a little too sweet for my palate).
Following dinner and changing into our all-white party outfits we joined the White Hot Night party already in progress in the Spinnaker Lounge. By the time we arrived at 11:00 PM the party was already petering out and most of those on the dance floor were from the ship’s dance troupe and cruise staff. Moreover, the staff again started stripping the room of its white décor accents before midnight. Having enjoyed the White Hot Party immensely on our last NCL cruise we were sorely disappointed by this weak facsimile. However we were thoroughly tired at midnight and were more than happy to adjourn for the evening.
Still to come… Glacier Bay
Our second Alaskan port of call was Skagway—a town made famous by the Gold Rush. We had a busy day arranged in Skagway having booked two excursions through NCL. Our first tour departed one half hour after we reached port at 7:00. So we rose early at 6:00 AM, ate an express breakfast at the (24 hour) Blue Lagoon Café and were on shore in time to meet Jen-- our main guide for our morning glacial point wilderness safari.
We boarded a bus at the port which took us out to The Spirit—a high speed catamaran. After boarding, it was expertly guided (by Captain John Smith) down river (past Haines) on a 40 minute cruise along a deep wide fjord to our beach destination. There we boarded “off road safari vehicles” (aka re-purposed school buses) to reach a river-side dressing area where we were outfitted in boots, extra layers of outer wear and life vests. Thereafter, riverside, we were assigned to one of four 31 foot canoes, each holding 8 to 11 persons. Our canoe, captained by a guide named Teresa and nicknamed Team Brown Bear, had 4 other paddlers in addition to us. After paddling leisurely (albeit against the river current) for 15 or 20 minutes and reaching a certain point cut-over point, Teresa ripped the cord on the outboard motor to power us through the ice flows for a closer look at the Glacier Point ice formations. She even scooped up a small ice flow from the river to pass around the canoe. After a few minutes maneuvering us in front of the glacier, we reversed course and headed back downstream. On the return catamaran trip we were served a tasty box lunch consisting of a turkey mini-sub, sun chips, some carrot sticks, a massive chocolate chip cookies and bottled water.
We arrived back in town around 1 PM and spent about an hour watching salmon running upstream and shopping in the town shops. The Skagway streets are laid out in a logical grid pattern with Broadway being the main arterial road running from our port at the southern end of town and intersected by numbered avenues. At 2:30 new headed back to the ship for two hours of down time before setting out on our 2nd excursion of the day.
At 4:30 PM in the afternoon we boarded a White Pass and Yukon railway car for our round trip 21 mile evening summit ride to at an elevation of 2,865 ft. The hi-lights along the route included a gold rush cemetery, rocky point, bridal veil falls and inspiration point. We also passed through two tunnels and passed an old steel cantilever bridge (now de-commissioned) built in 1901. Most of the best views were on the left hand side of the car (both coming and going, as the seats simply reverse when you reach the summit and the engine re-hooks to the other end of the car to begin the descent leg. You are permitted to go outside the cars to snap photos on the platforms between the cars during the trip but are not permitted to walk between them.
Two advantages of the evening summit over the rides earlier in the day are that the cars tend to be less crowded and that the later afternoon lighting conditions are more camera-friendly. Following our return to the Skagway station we returned immediately to the ship.
Rather than dining immediately upon our return, our group (minus one—moi) decided to take in the 8:45 Second City scripted comedy show in the Stardust theatre. That pushed our dinner out to 9:45. As the Summer Garden closes at 9:30, that left us no anytime dining option other than to return to Indigo for a second night. The advantage of late dining there was that there was no wait time. The disadvantage was that by the end of the meal we were one of only 3 remaining parties dining and we felt like we were in the way as staff scurried all around us re-setting the room for an art auction event that was to take place in the venue later in the evening.
Despite this, both the meal and the service were better than one night earlier. The popular app was the onion soup, while the entrée selections included a Thai noodle dish, roast turkey and tilapia. Our dessert entrees included a mocha flavoured cream filled layer cake and blueberry crumble (a little too sweet for my palate).
Following dinner and changing into our all-white party outfits we joined the White Hot Night party already in progress in the Spinnaker Lounge. By the time we arrived at 11:00 PM the party was already petering out and most of those on the dance floor were from the ship’s dance troupe and cruise staff. Moreover, the staff again started stripping the room of its white décor accents before midnight. Having enjoyed the White Hot Party immensely on our last NCL cruise we were sorely disappointed by this weak facsimile. However we were thoroughly tired at midnight and were more than happy to adjourn for the evening.
Still to come… Glacier Bay
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ahoy the shore from Alaska (4th in a series)
sea pics:
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Day 3
We were excited to reach our first “day” in port— although technically we didn’t arrive until 2:00 in the afternoon—in Juneau, Alaska. We awoke in time to make the breakfast seating in the Summer Palace and received another excellent (window side) table assignment. Service was again exemplary. Following breakfast, we returned to the spa to find it much busier than on the prior day. Thereafter, our lunch was enjoyed back in the Summer Palace (another window-side seat assignment) as we pulled into port, relieving the Norwegian Star in her berth. The Diamond Princess, RCL Splendour of the Seas and the Celebrity Infinity were also in port that day.
We had booked an NCL shore excursion entitled “Sky to Sea”-- a 9.5 mile cycling tour. We were the first of our excursion group to meet our guide Nancy at the pier. Nancy, a retired person, was not a native Alaskan (born in the lower 48) but had spent the better part of her last 20 years in the State, originally in Anchorage and more recently in Juneau. There were six other people in our bike excursion—a retired couple and a group of four (quite eccentric and overdressed) USC students from Los Angeles. We took a mini-bus--- driven by a grumpy retired mechanic—up the hill to the Eaglecrest ski chalet that served as base camp We were assigned helmets and 21 speed bikes to start the 5.2 bike downward leg of our trek back down to the sea. Nancy told us that she rarely exceeded 20 mph and that 80% of the ride would be downhill. She definitely exceeded 20 mph and the inclines (while infrequent) were rough climbs for riders who don’t bike regularly, even after gearing down.
Our first stop along the route was at a bog to view the local flora. The fireweed grows every where and had already started to turn to seed. Nancy explained that the local people say that when the firewood turns, it is time to stop fishing and start hunting. Our next stop was at a mountain stream. We made our final downhill stop at a hanging glacier she called the Thomas. We turned left at the bottom of the hill and began 4.3 mile flat section of our ride along the coast. Sometime between this point and our next stop one member of our group (who shall remain nameless, but does not have the last name McGuinness) decided to wimp out and ride in the trailing van. She was e eirof thwaiting for us at the next stop which was at Fritz Cove overlooking the Mendenhall Glacier and Juneau airport (the city is only accessible by air and water--- there are no arterial roads in!)
From Fritz Cove forward, Nancy provided no further narration. Our driver was waiting for us at the end of the route with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and trail mix/energy bars. From there we reboarded the van for the ride back to town. Overall the excursion was a good workout and offered pleasant enough scenery for the price. We got off the minibus in town (our ship was moored about 1 mile away, while the Celebrity and Princess ships were closer) to spend some more time before our 9:30 sailaway. In town, we checked out the Red Dog Saloon—with its sawdust floors, did some shopping (picking up two reversible hooded fleece lined jackets (which unzip into vests) in a season end sale and visited the Juneau library to take advantage of their free internet connections.
Thereafter, around 6:30 we rode up the Mt. Roberts tramway (adult fare $27.00) to reach the lookouts that offer a spectacular sky high view of the city and the port before the sun set. The tramway and the shops / eateries and nature centres at the top are operated by native Americans. We began our descent just as the ships lights began switching on. By this time the RCL had already departed and the Celebrity ship was departing. The Diamond Princess sailed away just after us.
We were too late reboarding the ship to make the show song and dance revue performance in the Stardust theatre so proceeded almost directly to Indigo-- the casual dining room-- for dinner and were informed that there would be a half hour wait for a table of 4. We were given a flashing/vibrating handheld signaling device to carry with us to summon us back when the table freed up. We were just settling in at the martini bar in a nearby lounge, when a mere minutes later the device started to flash and vibrate. Returning to the podium, we were seated by the hostess about 5 minutes later in an annex to the main the hall around the corner. In contrast to the Summer Palace, the décor in Indigo is dark (the room is windowless) and garish. There are illuminated abstract Andy Warhol-esque art pieces on the wall depicting famous American landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Capitol building, White House, St Louis Arch) and currency.
The service in Indigo was unfriendly and indifferent. Our table was set without salt and paper shakers. The food was also not of high quality. Several of my table-mates selected a steak (with frites) from the everyday menu that were thin, dried out and tasteless—a pale imitation of the meats we enjoyed at Cagneys one night earlier. The desserts were also uninspired. Knowing we had an early excursion the following morning in Skagway, we headed almost immediately to bed following dinner
Still to come…. Skagway
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Day 3
We were excited to reach our first “day” in port— although technically we didn’t arrive until 2:00 in the afternoon—in Juneau, Alaska. We awoke in time to make the breakfast seating in the Summer Palace and received another excellent (window side) table assignment. Service was again exemplary. Following breakfast, we returned to the spa to find it much busier than on the prior day. Thereafter, our lunch was enjoyed back in the Summer Palace (another window-side seat assignment) as we pulled into port, relieving the Norwegian Star in her berth. The Diamond Princess, RCL Splendour of the Seas and the Celebrity Infinity were also in port that day.
We had booked an NCL shore excursion entitled “Sky to Sea”-- a 9.5 mile cycling tour. We were the first of our excursion group to meet our guide Nancy at the pier. Nancy, a retired person, was not a native Alaskan (born in the lower 48) but had spent the better part of her last 20 years in the State, originally in Anchorage and more recently in Juneau. There were six other people in our bike excursion—a retired couple and a group of four (quite eccentric and overdressed) USC students from Los Angeles. We took a mini-bus--- driven by a grumpy retired mechanic—up the hill to the Eaglecrest ski chalet that served as base camp We were assigned helmets and 21 speed bikes to start the 5.2 bike downward leg of our trek back down to the sea. Nancy told us that she rarely exceeded 20 mph and that 80% of the ride would be downhill. She definitely exceeded 20 mph and the inclines (while infrequent) were rough climbs for riders who don’t bike regularly, even after gearing down.
Our first stop along the route was at a bog to view the local flora. The fireweed grows every where and had already started to turn to seed. Nancy explained that the local people say that when the firewood turns, it is time to stop fishing and start hunting. Our next stop was at a mountain stream. We made our final downhill stop at a hanging glacier she called the Thomas. We turned left at the bottom of the hill and began 4.3 mile flat section of our ride along the coast. Sometime between this point and our next stop one member of our group (who shall remain nameless, but does not have the last name McGuinness) decided to wimp out and ride in the trailing van. She was e eirof thwaiting for us at the next stop which was at Fritz Cove overlooking the Mendenhall Glacier and Juneau airport (the city is only accessible by air and water--- there are no arterial roads in!)
From Fritz Cove forward, Nancy provided no further narration. Our driver was waiting for us at the end of the route with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and trail mix/energy bars. From there we reboarded the van for the ride back to town. Overall the excursion was a good workout and offered pleasant enough scenery for the price. We got off the minibus in town (our ship was moored about 1 mile away, while the Celebrity and Princess ships were closer) to spend some more time before our 9:30 sailaway. In town, we checked out the Red Dog Saloon—with its sawdust floors, did some shopping (picking up two reversible hooded fleece lined jackets (which unzip into vests) in a season end sale and visited the Juneau library to take advantage of their free internet connections.
Thereafter, around 6:30 we rode up the Mt. Roberts tramway (adult fare $27.00) to reach the lookouts that offer a spectacular sky high view of the city and the port before the sun set. The tramway and the shops / eateries and nature centres at the top are operated by native Americans. We began our descent just as the ships lights began switching on. By this time the RCL had already departed and the Celebrity ship was departing. The Diamond Princess sailed away just after us.
We were too late reboarding the ship to make the show song and dance revue performance in the Stardust theatre so proceeded almost directly to Indigo-- the casual dining room-- for dinner and were informed that there would be a half hour wait for a table of 4. We were given a flashing/vibrating handheld signaling device to carry with us to summon us back when the table freed up. We were just settling in at the martini bar in a nearby lounge, when a mere minutes later the device started to flash and vibrate. Returning to the podium, we were seated by the hostess about 5 minutes later in an annex to the main the hall around the corner. In contrast to the Summer Palace, the décor in Indigo is dark (the room is windowless) and garish. There are illuminated abstract Andy Warhol-esque art pieces on the wall depicting famous American landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Capitol building, White House, St Louis Arch) and currency.
The service in Indigo was unfriendly and indifferent. Our table was set without salt and paper shakers. The food was also not of high quality. Several of my table-mates selected a steak (with frites) from the everyday menu that were thin, dried out and tasteless—a pale imitation of the meats we enjoyed at Cagneys one night earlier. The desserts were also uninspired. Knowing we had an early excursion the following morning in Skagway, we headed almost immediately to bed following dinner
Still to come…. Skagway
Ahoy the shore from Alaska (3rd in a series)
Seattle pics now available
:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=118078&id=526885372
Day 2 Our group awoke fairly late (after 8:00 AM) considering how early we had retired the evening before. By the time we were showered and dressed it was too late to make breakfast in the Summer Palace (table service) dining room so we headed up to check out the buffet. We found the buffet extremely crowded so made our way aft to the Great Outdoors dining terrace. We were able to find a nice table in the sun there and the weather was still warm enough to make dining el fresco comfortable. The service station offered made to order omelets, waffle/French toast and other standard breakfast meats (sausage bacon) and homefried potatoes; additionally, lighter options like melon and other fruits, yogurt and cereals were amply stocked along with a beverage station with apple/orange juice and coffee (including decaf) and tea. Following breakfast we attended an excursions talk in the Stardust theatre that was sparsely attended but very informative. E discovered that places had opened up on the Coastal adventure seacraft excursion that we had originally tried to reserve online but discovered full. A quick trip to the excursions desk and we were all re-booked very painless.
We did make it to the Summer Palace for lunch just after NOON and received an excellent table assignment to the rear of the dining hall by the wake-view picture windows. The décor in the Summer Palace is quite restrained relative to other common areas. Inspired by a French court in the age of Louis XIV it features white wood trim furniture with goal leaf accents, red regal crested seat backs, green seat cushions and marble columns, cascading crystal chandelier lighting fixtures, a gold etched mirrored ceiling and large scale oil paintings—featuring period families at play-- on the wall. Service was excellent at lunch. Several of us chose the seafood (lobster crab) bisque for our appetizers. For our entrees the popular choices (for two of us) were the sweet and sour grouper served on fried rice while the meatloaf and gnocchi were also selected by our tablemates. With he exception of the gnochi, all were well received. Dessert selections included bread pudding and pear gellate.
By 2:30 we were already into the inside passage and started to spy beautiful fog drenched panoramic mountain scenery rising on both sides of the ship. We adjourned to the spa shortly thereafter to enjoy the thermal suite. The general unisex area features a large heated pool with thermal therapy air jets and a rolling back massage wall rack, heated stone lounges that gently curve to take pressure off your spine, several comfortable teak lounges (including couples lounges) with well stuffed seat cushions positioned with full views of the picture window panoramas. In the gender segregated areas off the unisex suite there are individual hot tubs, a sauna ((which also offers excellent views), a steam room, a chilling tub as well as large shower stalls.
We had dinner reservations at Cagneys Steak House for 6:00 PM. We were a bit late arriving and were seated in an annex that was entered through a lounge. Again we were seated window side. Dinner apps we sampled included Oysters Rockefeller, jumbo shrimp cocktail and crab cakes. For dinner the table selected rib eye, new york and two t-bones. All were excellent and came with a wide assortment of sides, including baked potatoes, mushrooms, vegetables and onion rings. We finished up a very satisfying meal with apple crisp, cheesecake and raspberry crème brule for dessert. I also had a decafé cappuccino, which was excellent.
Following dinner we posed for formal portraits (which were organized in a circuit passing by every available backdrop), watched the not so newlywed game (hosted by Julie)--- one of the weaker versions of this (normally uproarious) game show classics I have seen at sea-- and then attended a comedy show. The comedy show featuring comic Tim Kaminski was centred around an extended audience participation skit based on the film classic The Wizard of Oz, featuring audience members portraying Dorothy, the tin woodman (a Chinese gentleman that spoke no English), the cowardly lion (a bearded dentist that stole the show), the Scarecrow and an unfortunate young man selected to portray Toto who spent the entire segment on his knees nudging up against Dorothy’s leg on cue! Tired after the show, we adjourned to our stateroom and retired.
:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=118078&id=526885372
Day 2 Our group awoke fairly late (after 8:00 AM) considering how early we had retired the evening before. By the time we were showered and dressed it was too late to make breakfast in the Summer Palace (table service) dining room so we headed up to check out the buffet. We found the buffet extremely crowded so made our way aft to the Great Outdoors dining terrace. We were able to find a nice table in the sun there and the weather was still warm enough to make dining el fresco comfortable. The service station offered made to order omelets, waffle/French toast and other standard breakfast meats (sausage bacon) and homefried potatoes; additionally, lighter options like melon and other fruits, yogurt and cereals were amply stocked along with a beverage station with apple/orange juice and coffee (including decaf) and tea. Following breakfast we attended an excursions talk in the Stardust theatre that was sparsely attended but very informative. E discovered that places had opened up on the Coastal adventure seacraft excursion that we had originally tried to reserve online but discovered full. A quick trip to the excursions desk and we were all re-booked very painless.
We did make it to the Summer Palace for lunch just after NOON and received an excellent table assignment to the rear of the dining hall by the wake-view picture windows. The décor in the Summer Palace is quite restrained relative to other common areas. Inspired by a French court in the age of Louis XIV it features white wood trim furniture with goal leaf accents, red regal crested seat backs, green seat cushions and marble columns, cascading crystal chandelier lighting fixtures, a gold etched mirrored ceiling and large scale oil paintings—featuring period families at play-- on the wall. Service was excellent at lunch. Several of us chose the seafood (lobster crab) bisque for our appetizers. For our entrees the popular choices (for two of us) were the sweet and sour grouper served on fried rice while the meatloaf and gnocchi were also selected by our tablemates. With he exception of the gnochi, all were well received. Dessert selections included bread pudding and pear gellate.
By 2:30 we were already into the inside passage and started to spy beautiful fog drenched panoramic mountain scenery rising on both sides of the ship. We adjourned to the spa shortly thereafter to enjoy the thermal suite. The general unisex area features a large heated pool with thermal therapy air jets and a rolling back massage wall rack, heated stone lounges that gently curve to take pressure off your spine, several comfortable teak lounges (including couples lounges) with well stuffed seat cushions positioned with full views of the picture window panoramas. In the gender segregated areas off the unisex suite there are individual hot tubs, a sauna ((which also offers excellent views), a steam room, a chilling tub as well as large shower stalls.
We had dinner reservations at Cagneys Steak House for 6:00 PM. We were a bit late arriving and were seated in an annex that was entered through a lounge. Again we were seated window side. Dinner apps we sampled included Oysters Rockefeller, jumbo shrimp cocktail and crab cakes. For dinner the table selected rib eye, new york and two t-bones. All were excellent and came with a wide assortment of sides, including baked potatoes, mushrooms, vegetables and onion rings. We finished up a very satisfying meal with apple crisp, cheesecake and raspberry crème brule for dessert. I also had a decafé cappuccino, which was excellent.
Following dinner we posed for formal portraits (which were organized in a circuit passing by every available backdrop), watched the not so newlywed game (hosted by Julie)--- one of the weaker versions of this (normally uproarious) game show classics I have seen at sea-- and then attended a comedy show. The comedy show featuring comic Tim Kaminski was centred around an extended audience participation skit based on the film classic The Wizard of Oz, featuring audience members portraying Dorothy, the tin woodman (a Chinese gentleman that spoke no English), the cowardly lion (a bearded dentist that stole the show), the Scarecrow and an unfortunate young man selected to portray Toto who spent the entire segment on his knees nudging up against Dorothy’s leg on cue! Tired after the show, we adjourned to our stateroom and retired.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Ahoy the shore from Alaska (2nd in a series)
We departed the Grand Hyatt at approximately 11:00 AM on Sunday August 30th. No van taxis were available but the skilled hotel porter was able to cram most of our bags into the trunk of a standard sized taxi and we jammed three passengers in the rear and myself up front with the driver—some of us carry-ons in our lap. Not exactly roomy and comfortable but the taxi ride to the pier 66 cruise-ship terminal was relatively short, inexpensive and uneventful as was the check-in process. We were on board by NOON. We entered off the gangplank onto level 7 at the two level crystal atrium (featuring a massive floor to roof video screen). To be honest, the
We were informed that our staterooms wouldn’t be available until 2 PM so we had some time to kill. We immediately made our dinner reservations for the first two nights (you can make a reservation as early as 8 AM the day prior) as we knew we would be at sea those evenings. We chose La Cucina (Italian) and Cagneys Steak House for Sunday and Monday night dinners, respectively. The former has a $10 surcharge while the latter had a $25 surcharge pp. Then we proceeded upstairs to the poolside buffet. It was already relatively busy so we ate in the great outdoors table seating area which is aft on level 12 (the pool level). There you can dine el fresco on a selection of grille food like (burgers, hot dogs and fries) and soups, as well as made to order pasta. spent some time visiting the kidszone (to sign the waivers for the teen activities), touring the spa (we signed up for the $99 week long thermal suite “members only” club (the limit entry to 180 people to avoid overcrowding)) and canvassing the poolside expo exhibits (a quick orientation to all the different resources and activities available on board). Finally, we attended the “Who Wants to be a Gazillionaire” gameshow in the Spinnaker lounge.
We proceeded to our stateroom precisely at 2:00 to make a few disturbing discoveries. First, none of our luggage had yet arrived and second the room appeared to contain only two twin beds plus an upper
The muster drill was scheduled at 3:30. Our assigned muster station (2E) was inside the Le Bistro French restaurant. It was brief, comfortable (all arriving parties were assigned to tables to be seated) and well organized (cabin numbers were stenciled on life jackets for easy check-in to confirm attendance). The ship began to move out of dock almost immediately after the drill ended. When we return to our stateroom to re-stow our life jackets, our luggage had arrived so we did a quick unpack and then headed back up to the pooldeck in our bathing suites for the sailaway party. Both pools (the adult only and the general pool (into which the waterslide falls) were open and were busy (taking advantage of perhaps the warmest temps we would get throughout the duration of the ship.) Three of us tried the waterslide—two successfully—Ryan was unable o generate any downward momentum and basically had to push himself down using his arms on the handrail. The water was warm when you were in the pool but there was a chilly cross-wind when you stepped out onto the deck.
Following the swim/sailaway, we returned to our stateroom to dress for dinner. Still being on eastern time, we had made our dinner reservation early (5:30) at La Cucina. Service was good. The olive tray arrived first followed by the antipasto trolley (featuring salami, proscuitto, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatos and several cheeses). For the next course Ceasar salad was freshly prepared table side. For a second plate we ordered a custom pizza for the table (featuring ham, meatballs and sausage). I also ordered a pasta item (Fetticune Alfredo). Both the pasta and the pizza were delicious. For our entrees I ordered salmon sallopini while my table-mates went with pollo
Following dinner we headed to the opening show in the Stardust theatre… a massive three level showroom with stadium style seating. The show opened with the ship’s showband and then Julie, our cruise director, made her entrance. Julie is a fellow Canadian, from
More to come: day 2 and the inside passage
Monday, August 31, 2009
Ahoy the shore from Alaska (1st in a series)
We are on the first full day of a 7 night Alaskan cruise aboard NCL’s Norwegian Pearl. We are currently on our first full day at sea (Monday August 31) having embarked yesterday (Sunday August 20th at NOON). We are charting a course North along the Pacific shore toward British Columbia and the inside passage enroute to our first port of Juneau.
Our flight to our embarkation port of Seattle departed from Pearson at 9:30 AM on Saturday. Morning. We used a large airport limo van (Cadillac Esplanade) to get from downtown out to YYZ because there are four of us traveling together (myself, my son Ryan (17), my daughter Claire (14) and my sister Donna (age withheld)) and we had packed six check-in bags and four carry-ons between us. We were met by our limo driver at 7:00 AM promptly, traffic was light and we were at Pearson a full two hours before departure. There were fairly long lines at Air Canada check-in and US customs but we were thru to our gate in reasonable time (none of us set off the alarm or were selected for secondary security inspection). The flight boarded and departed .on time. It was an Embraer jet with two seats on either side of the aisle and we were all seated in a single row. The flight was over 2/3rd full so there was plenty of room for our carry-ons in the overhead storage compartments. . We had no turbulence enroute and touch down on the runway was smooth. We actually arrived early. Overall a near perfect flight.
We had to wait a fair time in a separate queue for a van taxi to get from Seattle airport to our downtown hotel (the Grand Hyatt, downtown at 7th St between Pine aand Pike near the Conference Centre). We arrived at our hotel around 1:30 and upon checking in at the registration desk discovered our room was not yet ready so we checked our bags with the bell hop and set out to explore the city. We walked down to the waterfront to explore the famous Pike Public Market. At the fish-mongers booth we saw the handlers throwing flying fish thru the air at a volunteer tourist victim who was charged with the task of trying to catch the slippery scaly airborne objects. She succeeded on her third attempt! We were also impressed by some of the flower market stalls. .As we were walking back up along Pine St, the reception desk called to say our room had been assigned. We returned to the hotel and were given keys to room 2202. It was a very comfortable room with a very large marble bath featuring a large soaker tub and corner glass shower stall.
After our bags were brought up to our room, we set out on the town again. By this time it was mid afternoon and we heading out to the Cheesecake caught the monorail from the shopping second a few blocks from our hotel out along a 1.5 mile stretch of track to Settle Centre, which is the home of many museums and the Spoace Needle. The monorail, the Space Needle and much of the exhibit space were originally built for the 1962 World Fair that Seattle hosted. We purchased “day/night” two visit passes and went up for our initial visit around 5:00 PM. The tower is a little over 600 feet tall and offers exceptional panoramic views of the city and Puget Sound. After returning down the outside bug elevator, we headed over (at around 6:00) to cross the street to catch our Duck tour, which was departing at 6:30 PM.
The Duck is a surplus WWII amphibious craft (similar to those used to storm the beaches of Normandy) that has been retrofitted.for tour purposes. The tour is 90 minutes long--- approximately 60 minutes on land and 30 minutes on water. We were assigned to Duck A (#5) which was piloted by Captain Stupendous—a balding man fond of donning wld hats! The land tour took us through most of the “must see” sites of Seattle, including the waterfront, Pioneer Square and the city centre. Then we headed out across a span bridge to Freemont, which was our entry point into Lake Union for the section of our tour. We happened to hit the water just around sunset. Lake Union is a deep fresh water with many house boats, house barges and floating homes on it, including the one made famous by the Tom Hanks – Meg Ryan movie Sleepless in Seattle .From the lake you can also see gasworks park—a greenspace built around the site of a former gas factory that no longer operates.
Following our duck tour we went back up the Seattle Needle after nightfall and caught the return trip on the monorail back to the Hyatt to turn in for the night. The following morning we went out on a morning walk back to Pike Market—this time descending the hill down to the aquarium.
More to come…embarkation… stateroom
Our flight to our embarkation port of Seattle departed from Pearson at 9:30 AM on Saturday. Morning. We used a large airport limo van (Cadillac Esplanade) to get from downtown out to YYZ because there are four of us traveling together (myself, my son Ryan (17), my daughter Claire (14) and my sister Donna (age withheld)) and we had packed six check-in bags and four carry-ons between us. We were met by our limo driver at 7:00 AM promptly, traffic was light and we were at Pearson a full two hours before departure. There were fairly long lines at Air Canada check-in and US customs but we were thru to our gate in reasonable time (none of us set off the alarm or were selected for secondary security inspection). The flight boarded and departed .on time. It was an Embraer jet with two seats on either side of the aisle and we were all seated in a single row. The flight was over 2/3rd full so there was plenty of room for our carry-ons in the overhead storage compartments. . We had no turbulence enroute and touch down on the runway was smooth. We actually arrived early. Overall a near perfect flight.
We had to wait a fair time in a separate queue for a van taxi to get from Seattle airport to our downtown hotel (the Grand Hyatt, downtown at 7th St between Pine aand Pike near the Conference Centre). We arrived at our hotel around 1:30 and upon checking in at the registration desk discovered our room was not yet ready so we checked our bags with the bell hop and set out to explore the city. We walked down to the waterfront to explore the famous Pike Public Market. At the fish-mongers booth we saw the handlers throwing flying fish thru the air at a volunteer tourist victim who was charged with the task of trying to catch the slippery scaly airborne objects. She succeeded on her third attempt! We were also impressed by some of the flower market stalls. .As we were walking back up along Pine St, the reception desk called to say our room had been assigned. We returned to the hotel and were given keys to room 2202. It was a very comfortable room with a very large marble bath featuring a large soaker tub and corner glass shower stall.
After our bags were brought up to our room, we set out on the town again. By this time it was mid afternoon and we heading out to the Cheesecake caught the monorail from the shopping second a few blocks from our hotel out along a 1.5 mile stretch of track to Settle Centre, which is the home of many museums and the Spoace Needle. The monorail, the Space Needle and much of the exhibit space were originally built for the 1962 World Fair that Seattle hosted. We purchased “day/night” two visit passes and went up for our initial visit around 5:00 PM. The tower is a little over 600 feet tall and offers exceptional panoramic views of the city and Puget Sound. After returning down the outside bug elevator, we headed over (at around 6:00) to cross the street to catch our Duck tour, which was departing at 6:30 PM.
The Duck is a surplus WWII amphibious craft (similar to those used to storm the beaches of Normandy) that has been retrofitted.for tour purposes. The tour is 90 minutes long--- approximately 60 minutes on land and 30 minutes on water. We were assigned to Duck A (#5) which was piloted by Captain Stupendous—a balding man fond of donning wld hats! The land tour took us through most of the “must see” sites of Seattle, including the waterfront, Pioneer Square and the city centre. Then we headed out across a span bridge to Freemont, which was our entry point into Lake Union for the section of our tour. We happened to hit the water just around sunset. Lake Union is a deep fresh water with many house boats, house barges and floating homes on it, including the one made famous by the Tom Hanks – Meg Ryan movie Sleepless in Seattle .From the lake you can also see gasworks park—a greenspace built around the site of a former gas factory that no longer operates.
Following our duck tour we went back up the Seattle Needle after nightfall and caught the return trip on the monorail back to the Hyatt to turn in for the night. The following morning we went out on a morning walk back to Pike Market—this time descending the hill down to the aquarium.
More to come…embarkation… stateroom
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Ahoy the shore (part 3 in a series)
We returned earlier this week from a 7 day sea cruise. In earlier posts in this series I highlighted the first 7 days' adventures. This post will complete the series and outline the experiences for the final 3 days of the cruise:
Entertainment: On Friday we attended a performance by comic Billy Vader-- another cruiseship veteran headliner. This show was virtually identical to a performance of his I had attended earlier, right down to the sight gags and his interactions with the cruise director at the conclusion of the show. Later Friday night we caught an encore of the Newlywed Game in the Explorer's lounge hosted by assistant cruise director Mark Turner. The selected contestants this go round were a big improvement on the original run!
On Saturday night we attended a performance of the musical revue Motor City, performed by the Princess singers and dancers. The hilight of the show is a segment performed witrh flourescent masks and costumes under blacklight. For some reason the show featured a performance of Tina Turner's "Rollin' on the River" even tho she wasn't a Motown recording artist! On Saturday night we monitored "comic juggler' Steve Carle's show in the Universe show lounge. The show was more amusing than technically impressive, but did feature some great audience interaction moments. It nicely capture the spontaneity and immediacy of a street busker performance.
Following Carle's performance we attended the Princess Pop Star finals at the same venue. Princess Pop Star is the ships' version of American Idol, featuring karaoke performances by the ships' passengers. Carle, comic Elliot Maxx and the lead female vocalist from Treasure (the Explorer lounge's resident band) served as the celebrity judges. The all male cast of 6 contestants-- selected by audience ballots in three earlier "heats" held in the Explorer's lounge-- included a Dino Martino style crooner (who sang "Amore"), a Chinese American channeling Elvis in his version of "Its Now or Never", a hispanic who sang "You Raise Me Up" (most appropriate selection on an Easter Sunday), a manic white soul singer fond of performing Van Morrison and Michael MacDonald covers and a pastor from Florida who sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". The eventual winner was Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith) who excelled at singing the falsetto vocal lines in covers of 60s Philly Soul songs like those made famous by the Delfonics. With the exception of the Treasure vocalist, who acted as straight woman, Carle and Maxx used the judge's bench as a platform to launch more comic salvos.
Food: Friday was the second formal night and featured lobster on the dining room menu. There was also a champagne waterfall staged in the central atrium at 11:30. The hilight of our Saturday dining experience was the Cherries Jubilee dessert flamed table side by the maitre d. two at our table also ordered the napoleon dessert pastry, which both enjoyed. The chef offered us a special "one time only" Easter menu on Sunday. I sampled gnocchi, grilled prawns and Tilapia from the menu and found the latter most satisfying.
Ports of call:
Ocho Rios, Jamiaca: This was our last port of call. Here, the excursion tour groups actually met in a tent on shore portside instead of in the Princess theatre. We had selected a dual excursion featuring a climb at Dunns River Falls and a chair lift trip up Mystic Mountain rainforest to ride down in a "Jamaican bobsled". The tour operator had organized a series of small passenger vans to shuttle tour takers back and forth between the ship and the tour venues on a flexible schedule basis.
We went to Dunns River Falls first and our driver stopped at a roadside "sticky feet" water shoe vending outlet for people (like yours truly) who hadn't brought along their own suitable rubber soled footware from home. The going rate for the watershoes was US $17. Once at the park we were met by two female tour guides who escorted us first past another sticky feet vending stand (insisting that everyone must wear water shoes in order to "climb") and then to a storage locker rental facility where we were forced to pay another $8 ($3 which was a deposit refundable) in order to stow goods that we didn't want to get wet. We found another pair to share our locker with and split the cost (since they were quite large) Thereafter we met our male falls tour guide who conveniently neglected to remind "climbers" to store their digital cameras in the locker. Instead he later confiscated them up into a bag that he carried along and returned them (for a ransom "tip") after we reached the top! We had the foresight to bring along our own waterproof camera but others were forced to purchase still and video tickets from other hustlers who tagged along with our tour group!
Climbing up the falls can actually be quite dangerous, although the water was clear when we went up, because the moisture leaves slippery moss on the rocks and there are many underwater crevices to twist an ankle in. Apparently there is a nursing station somewhere in the park, but fortunately everyone in our group appeared to make in up without any cuts, bumps or broken bones! There are natural waterslides, falls and pools to plunge into along the way and the guides milk all of them to the max to generate multiple photo ops!
The exit from the park can be tough to negotiate with all the cash in your wallet intact since you are guided along an exit path dotted with numerous vending stalls. The hard sell tactics of the local vendors hawking their wares can become quite annoying to tolerate.
After making our escape from Dunns River Falls we were dropped at Mystic mountain. this is a brand new facility opened less than a year. Our driver claimed it was co-owned by a transplanted "American Jew" with the help of a grant from the Jamaican tourism board and Carnival cruiseship line investment dollars. Basically you board a chair lift at the base of the mountain and then travel up a very long vertical distance to a station at the top. The ride up is quite scenic and pleasant. The station at the summit contains a shop, washroom facilities and the loading point for the Jamaican bobsled run.
The bobsled run is inspired by the John Candy Disney comedy "Cool Runnings" which told the story of the Jamaican entry in the Olympic bobsled competition. Its basically a roller coaster
ride, however for the upper section of the track, the only force controlling your descent (in one person cars) is gravity and a braking lever on the side. Once you get to the bottom, your car is hauled back up the hill using a mechanical pulley system, similar to a traditional roller coaster. The run in total takes 5 minutes to complete. After completing your run, you can purchase photos taken by automated cameras for a cost of $10 a piece. Following the bobsled run, you have the option of going zip lining or returning back down the mountain on the chair lift. We passed on the former. Instead we rode right down and caught another passenger van back to the dock (Jamaicans drive, like the Brits, on the left side of the road) and re-boarded the ship
Disembarkation:
We were unable to use the self-disembarkation option (where you haul off all your own luggage) since we had a senior with a walker in our party. We were originally assigned a late departing colour group (having failed to return our disembarkation questionnaires that were due back in on Thursday) but were able to switch to an earlier departing colour group (since we had an 11:20 AM flight to catch back at the airport) without hassle when we went to the passenger service desk. We were instructed to put our luggage out for collection ideally before dinner and, otherwise, before retiring and did so. The following morning we reported to the Wheelhouse lounge (the designated spot for Platinum Captains Circle members to wait) at our appointed time and were called to disembark shortly thereafter. It took us about 5 minutes to exit to the grandstand after joining the line snaking thru the central atrium on Level 5. Upon entering the terminal we were directed to collect the luggage that we had put out for collection the preceding evening in a area designated for our aqua colour group. While we found most of our luggage pieces there quickly, my garment bag was conspicuously absent. After searching through all the other colour groups, we eventually located the missing piece about a half an hour later group with the pink colour group! Not sure how that happened. In any case it was smooth sailing thru customs to the airport after that. We took a private passenger van there for $17 pp, which is apparently cheaper than the transfer fee Princess charges for their airport shuttle coach. (We got spoiled on the trip to the terminal from the airport, 10 days earlier, when a driver with a town car, delivered all four of us in style for $40 fare total!)
Our Air Canada flight (we had a celebrity passenger-- former PM Brian Mulroney-- aboard) was on time pulling out of the gate but got delayed sitting on the tarmac awaiting runway clearance but we managed t back up time in the air and arrived back in good time. We had no hassles in Customs and our Sykpark van driver was already waiting to take us to the lot where we left our parked cars when we arrived at the designated pick up point!
Another cruise was in the history books!
Entertainment: On Friday we attended a performance by comic Billy Vader-- another cruiseship veteran headliner. This show was virtually identical to a performance of his I had attended earlier, right down to the sight gags and his interactions with the cruise director at the conclusion of the show. Later Friday night we caught an encore of the Newlywed Game in the Explorer's lounge hosted by assistant cruise director Mark Turner. The selected contestants this go round were a big improvement on the original run!
On Saturday night we attended a performance of the musical revue Motor City, performed by the Princess singers and dancers. The hilight of the show is a segment performed witrh flourescent masks and costumes under blacklight. For some reason the show featured a performance of Tina Turner's "Rollin' on the River" even tho she wasn't a Motown recording artist! On Saturday night we monitored "comic juggler' Steve Carle's show in the Universe show lounge. The show was more amusing than technically impressive, but did feature some great audience interaction moments. It nicely capture the spontaneity and immediacy of a street busker performance.
Following Carle's performance we attended the Princess Pop Star finals at the same venue. Princess Pop Star is the ships' version of American Idol, featuring karaoke performances by the ships' passengers. Carle, comic Elliot Maxx and the lead female vocalist from Treasure (the Explorer lounge's resident band) served as the celebrity judges. The all male cast of 6 contestants-- selected by audience ballots in three earlier "heats" held in the Explorer's lounge-- included a Dino Martino style crooner (who sang "Amore"), a Chinese American channeling Elvis in his version of "Its Now or Never", a hispanic who sang "You Raise Me Up" (most appropriate selection on an Easter Sunday), a manic white soul singer fond of performing Van Morrison and Michael MacDonald covers and a pastor from Florida who sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". The eventual winner was Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith) who excelled at singing the falsetto vocal lines in covers of 60s Philly Soul songs like those made famous by the Delfonics. With the exception of the Treasure vocalist, who acted as straight woman, Carle and Maxx used the judge's bench as a platform to launch more comic salvos.
Food: Friday was the second formal night and featured lobster on the dining room menu. There was also a champagne waterfall staged in the central atrium at 11:30. The hilight of our Saturday dining experience was the Cherries Jubilee dessert flamed table side by the maitre d. two at our table also ordered the napoleon dessert pastry, which both enjoyed. The chef offered us a special "one time only" Easter menu on Sunday. I sampled gnocchi, grilled prawns and Tilapia from the menu and found the latter most satisfying.
Ports of call:
Ocho Rios, Jamiaca: This was our last port of call. Here, the excursion tour groups actually met in a tent on shore portside instead of in the Princess theatre. We had selected a dual excursion featuring a climb at Dunns River Falls and a chair lift trip up Mystic Mountain rainforest to ride down in a "Jamaican bobsled". The tour operator had organized a series of small passenger vans to shuttle tour takers back and forth between the ship and the tour venues on a flexible schedule basis.
We went to Dunns River Falls first and our driver stopped at a roadside "sticky feet" water shoe vending outlet for people (like yours truly) who hadn't brought along their own suitable rubber soled footware from home. The going rate for the watershoes was US $17. Once at the park we were met by two female tour guides who escorted us first past another sticky feet vending stand (insisting that everyone must wear water shoes in order to "climb") and then to a storage locker rental facility where we were forced to pay another $8 ($3 which was a deposit refundable) in order to stow goods that we didn't want to get wet. We found another pair to share our locker with and split the cost (since they were quite large) Thereafter we met our male falls tour guide who conveniently neglected to remind "climbers" to store their digital cameras in the locker. Instead he later confiscated them up into a bag that he carried along and returned them (for a ransom "tip") after we reached the top! We had the foresight to bring along our own waterproof camera but others were forced to purchase still and video tickets from other hustlers who tagged along with our tour group!
Climbing up the falls can actually be quite dangerous, although the water was clear when we went up, because the moisture leaves slippery moss on the rocks and there are many underwater crevices to twist an ankle in. Apparently there is a nursing station somewhere in the park, but fortunately everyone in our group appeared to make in up without any cuts, bumps or broken bones! There are natural waterslides, falls and pools to plunge into along the way and the guides milk all of them to the max to generate multiple photo ops!
The exit from the park can be tough to negotiate with all the cash in your wallet intact since you are guided along an exit path dotted with numerous vending stalls. The hard sell tactics of the local vendors hawking their wares can become quite annoying to tolerate.
After making our escape from Dunns River Falls we were dropped at Mystic mountain. this is a brand new facility opened less than a year. Our driver claimed it was co-owned by a transplanted "American Jew" with the help of a grant from the Jamaican tourism board and Carnival cruiseship line investment dollars. Basically you board a chair lift at the base of the mountain and then travel up a very long vertical distance to a station at the top. The ride up is quite scenic and pleasant. The station at the summit contains a shop, washroom facilities and the loading point for the Jamaican bobsled run.
The bobsled run is inspired by the John Candy Disney comedy "Cool Runnings" which told the story of the Jamaican entry in the Olympic bobsled competition. Its basically a roller coaster
ride, however for the upper section of the track, the only force controlling your descent (in one person cars) is gravity and a braking lever on the side. Once you get to the bottom, your car is hauled back up the hill using a mechanical pulley system, similar to a traditional roller coaster. The run in total takes 5 minutes to complete. After completing your run, you can purchase photos taken by automated cameras for a cost of $10 a piece. Following the bobsled run, you have the option of going zip lining or returning back down the mountain on the chair lift. We passed on the former. Instead we rode right down and caught another passenger van back to the dock (Jamaicans drive, like the Brits, on the left side of the road) and re-boarded the ship
Disembarkation:
We were unable to use the self-disembarkation option (where you haul off all your own luggage) since we had a senior with a walker in our party. We were originally assigned a late departing colour group (having failed to return our disembarkation questionnaires that were due back in on Thursday) but were able to switch to an earlier departing colour group (since we had an 11:20 AM flight to catch back at the airport) without hassle when we went to the passenger service desk. We were instructed to put our luggage out for collection ideally before dinner and, otherwise, before retiring and did so. The following morning we reported to the Wheelhouse lounge (the designated spot for Platinum Captains Circle members to wait) at our appointed time and were called to disembark shortly thereafter. It took us about 5 minutes to exit to the grandstand after joining the line snaking thru the central atrium on Level 5. Upon entering the terminal we were directed to collect the luggage that we had put out for collection the preceding evening in a area designated for our aqua colour group. While we found most of our luggage pieces there quickly, my garment bag was conspicuously absent. After searching through all the other colour groups, we eventually located the missing piece about a half an hour later group with the pink colour group! Not sure how that happened. In any case it was smooth sailing thru customs to the airport after that. We took a private passenger van there for $17 pp, which is apparently cheaper than the transfer fee Princess charges for their airport shuttle coach. (We got spoiled on the trip to the terminal from the airport, 10 days earlier, when a driver with a town car, delivered all four of us in style for $40 fare total!)
Our Air Canada flight (we had a celebrity passenger-- former PM Brian Mulroney-- aboard) was on time pulling out of the gate but got delayed sitting on the tarmac awaiting runway clearance but we managed t back up time in the air and arrived back in good time. We had no hassles in Customs and our Sykpark van driver was already waiting to take us to the lot where we left our parked cars when we arrived at the designated pick up point!
Another cruise was in the history books!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Ahoy the shore (part 2 in a series)
We are on the Seventh day of a 10 day cruise aboard the Island Princess. Our course so far has taken us up around Cuba, to the island of Aruba, to Cartegena, Columbia and on transit through the Gutun locks of the Panama Canal and into Cristobal Pier 6 at Colon, Panama.
Ship activities:
On Tuesday night we attended a performance by actor-performer Adrian Zmed in the Universe lounge. Some may recall Adrian from his co-starring roles in the TV series TJ Hooker, the big-screen movie Grease 2 and as host of the dance competition show “Dance Fever”. The show charts Adrian’s personal journey to fame from child of an immigrant in Chicago, to performing as Danny Zucko in Grease on Broadway, to his television and movie success in LA to his more recent career as Vegas strip headliner. The Princess orchestra and singer/dancers are also featured prominently. The show is full of hokey schmaltz, the best example of which is a video montage of segments from a guest starring role Amed acted on The Love Boat unspooling on side video screens while a trio of Princess singers sing the theme song, with Adrian back stage
Following the variety show, we attended the Jeopardy game show in the Explorers lounge and managed to place second out of more than 20 teams, helped no doubt by the fact that the answer to one of the daily doubles (what Olympic host country has never won a gold medal) and final jeopardy question (what country has the longest coastline) were Canada. In the end our knowledge of astronomy proved to be our margin of defeat.
Wednesday night we attended a performance by the comedian Elliot Maxx in the Universe Lounge. This Phil Donahue look-alike used tired material poking fun and the size of cruise-room staterooms and showers and the age of passengers but had a pleasing stage persona and impeccable timing that transcended the routine.
On Thursday night we were in attendance at the International talent show in the Princess theatre. The house was sold out. The show featured crews performers, including a Filipino who did a great Michael Jackson impersonation and cruise director Billy Hygate’s spot-on impersonation of Topo in the “If I were a Rich Man” scene from Fiddler on the Roof! The closing scene featuring the cruise director’s staff performing a song in the round was a real crowd pleaser!
Food and Drink:
I have been focusing on the seafood entrees. Tuesday night I was faced with a difficult choice between Barramundi and Sole. I went with the latter and it was delicious. Wednesday night I had surf and turf which featured grilled shrimps partnered with a filet mignon which was passable. They have had a number of interesting ice cream flavours offered on the dessert menu, including rhubard and latte mocha.
On Thursday night we sampled The Bijou (Cajun themed) specialty dining room and came away disappointed. Our table service (provided by a Romanian waiter) was slow and sloppy. Also some of the dishes (for example the spare ribs and grilled prawns) were less flavourful than expected (although the accompanying spiced fries were delicious). There were three steak choices (including a porterhouse and NY strip) available on the menu. I selected the NY strip blackened at a medium temperature and was disappointed. The cut of meat was fatty and chewy. Accompanying vegetables (served on the side in share platters for two) included fried green tomatoes and succotash. Dessert items sampled at our table included bread pudding, a chocolate-pecan fudge torte and a fried yellow peach pie—all received high marks. We returned to the Bijou on Friday afternoon for the special pub lunch, featuring a choice of Brit favourites Fish n Chips, Ploughman’s lunch or Cottage Pie.
Tonight is the special Captains Dinner in the Provence dining room featuring (among other items) lobster tails! The Captains Circle Reception and champagne waterfall will also be held tonight (a formal night)
Ports of call:
So far we have hit three ports—Oranjestad, Aruba, Cartegena, Columbia and Cristobal, Panama (following a half transit of the Canal) We haveon port at Ocho Rios, Jamaica still to come.
Half transit of the Panama Canal:
Our itinerary called for us to complete a passage thru the Gatun Locks from the Caribbean / Atlantic end of the isthmus of the canal in the early post-dawn hours. We awoke before 6 AM and were out on deck by about 7 AM. We went to a (cruise critic website recommended) viewing area on a public balcony at the front of Deck 11 forward to observe our progress. Fortunately it appeared most passengers were still asleep so we were able to take up a prime viewing / camera position at the rail. The Island Princess is one of the largest passenger ships (by volume) capable of passing thru the locks (the record is held by NCL’s Norwegian Pearl, which pays in excess of a $100K toll—the toll is calculated based on net tonnage volume).
Passing thru the Gatun locks your ship rises thru three separate chambers up a vertical distance of 85 feet from sea level to Gatun Lake (one of the largest man-made lakes in the world). The ship has to be hooked up to two locomotive “mules” to be guided thru the locks (under its own power). There are actually two “lanes” of locks located side by side that two ships can pass through simultaneously and independently and the directions of the lanes are reversible. We left our viewing position after we entered into the third chamber and went down to a lower deck to observe how close the ship’s sides are to the concrete walls—there really isn’t much room for comfort!
Once we reached Gatun Lake, we anchored and the ship’s tenders began to ferry passengers on excursions ashore to meet their tour groups. Around 12:30 those who remained on board began the return trip back thru the Gatun locks downward toward the sea. Prime viewing positions at the front of the vessel were much more crowded on the return trip than they were in the earlier AM.
Limon Costa Rica
We went on an excursion to the Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park. This is a new facility only opened under 8 months. Our excursion included a box lunch featuring tasty ham and cheese sandwiches) served at the facility. Other attractions included an aerial tram ride (used for a descent down into the rainforest to view large ancient trees and a waterfall), a butterfly garden and reptile / snake exhibits. The bus ride to the facility was long over narrow windy rough roads but we were at least provided with a modern comfortable motor-coach with washroom facilities to make the trek. Our bus guide Erik was both informative and humourous / entertaining. Our park guide Marco has proved quite knowledgeable and helpful.
Ship activities:
On Tuesday night we attended a performance by actor-performer Adrian Zmed in the Universe lounge. Some may recall Adrian from his co-starring roles in the TV series TJ Hooker, the big-screen movie Grease 2 and as host of the dance competition show “Dance Fever”. The show charts Adrian’s personal journey to fame from child of an immigrant in Chicago, to performing as Danny Zucko in Grease on Broadway, to his television and movie success in LA to his more recent career as Vegas strip headliner. The Princess orchestra and singer/dancers are also featured prominently. The show is full of hokey schmaltz, the best example of which is a video montage of segments from a guest starring role Amed acted on The Love Boat unspooling on side video screens while a trio of Princess singers sing the theme song, with Adrian back stage
Following the variety show, we attended the Jeopardy game show in the Explorers lounge and managed to place second out of more than 20 teams, helped no doubt by the fact that the answer to one of the daily doubles (what Olympic host country has never won a gold medal) and final jeopardy question (what country has the longest coastline) were Canada. In the end our knowledge of astronomy proved to be our margin of defeat.
Wednesday night we attended a performance by the comedian Elliot Maxx in the Universe Lounge. This Phil Donahue look-alike used tired material poking fun and the size of cruise-room staterooms and showers and the age of passengers but had a pleasing stage persona and impeccable timing that transcended the routine.
On Thursday night we were in attendance at the International talent show in the Princess theatre. The house was sold out. The show featured crews performers, including a Filipino who did a great Michael Jackson impersonation and cruise director Billy Hygate’s spot-on impersonation of Topo in the “If I were a Rich Man” scene from Fiddler on the Roof! The closing scene featuring the cruise director’s staff performing a song in the round was a real crowd pleaser!
Food and Drink:
I have been focusing on the seafood entrees. Tuesday night I was faced with a difficult choice between Barramundi and Sole. I went with the latter and it was delicious. Wednesday night I had surf and turf which featured grilled shrimps partnered with a filet mignon which was passable. They have had a number of interesting ice cream flavours offered on the dessert menu, including rhubard and latte mocha.
On Thursday night we sampled The Bijou (Cajun themed) specialty dining room and came away disappointed. Our table service (provided by a Romanian waiter) was slow and sloppy. Also some of the dishes (for example the spare ribs and grilled prawns) were less flavourful than expected (although the accompanying spiced fries were delicious). There were three steak choices (including a porterhouse and NY strip) available on the menu. I selected the NY strip blackened at a medium temperature and was disappointed. The cut of meat was fatty and chewy. Accompanying vegetables (served on the side in share platters for two) included fried green tomatoes and succotash. Dessert items sampled at our table included bread pudding, a chocolate-pecan fudge torte and a fried yellow peach pie—all received high marks. We returned to the Bijou on Friday afternoon for the special pub lunch, featuring a choice of Brit favourites Fish n Chips, Ploughman’s lunch or Cottage Pie.
Tonight is the special Captains Dinner in the Provence dining room featuring (among other items) lobster tails! The Captains Circle Reception and champagne waterfall will also be held tonight (a formal night)
Ports of call:
So far we have hit three ports—Oranjestad, Aruba, Cartegena, Columbia and Cristobal, Panama (following a half transit of the Canal) We haveon port at Ocho Rios, Jamaica still to come.
Half transit of the Panama Canal:
Our itinerary called for us to complete a passage thru the Gatun Locks from the Caribbean / Atlantic end of the isthmus of the canal in the early post-dawn hours. We awoke before 6 AM and were out on deck by about 7 AM. We went to a (cruise critic website recommended) viewing area on a public balcony at the front of Deck 11 forward to observe our progress. Fortunately it appeared most passengers were still asleep so we were able to take up a prime viewing / camera position at the rail. The Island Princess is one of the largest passenger ships (by volume) capable of passing thru the locks (the record is held by NCL’s Norwegian Pearl, which pays in excess of a $100K toll—the toll is calculated based on net tonnage volume).
Passing thru the Gatun locks your ship rises thru three separate chambers up a vertical distance of 85 feet from sea level to Gatun Lake (one of the largest man-made lakes in the world). The ship has to be hooked up to two locomotive “mules” to be guided thru the locks (under its own power). There are actually two “lanes” of locks located side by side that two ships can pass through simultaneously and independently and the directions of the lanes are reversible. We left our viewing position after we entered into the third chamber and went down to a lower deck to observe how close the ship’s sides are to the concrete walls—there really isn’t much room for comfort!
Once we reached Gatun Lake, we anchored and the ship’s tenders began to ferry passengers on excursions ashore to meet their tour groups. Around 12:30 those who remained on board began the return trip back thru the Gatun locks downward toward the sea. Prime viewing positions at the front of the vessel were much more crowded on the return trip than they were in the earlier AM.
Limon Costa Rica
We went on an excursion to the Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park. This is a new facility only opened under 8 months. Our excursion included a box lunch featuring tasty ham and cheese sandwiches) served at the facility. Other attractions included an aerial tram ride (used for a descent down into the rainforest to view large ancient trees and a waterfall), a butterfly garden and reptile / snake exhibits. The bus ride to the facility was long over narrow windy rough roads but we were at least provided with a modern comfortable motor-coach with washroom facilities to make the trek. Our bus guide Erik was both informative and humourous / entertaining. Our park guide Marco has proved quite knowledgeable and helpful.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Ahoy the shore (1st in a series)
Ahoy the shore
We are on the Fifth day of a 10 day cruise departing from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale Florida) aboard the Island Princess. We embarked on Friday April 3 and spent the first few days at sea, finally reaching our first port (Aruba) yesterday. Our course so far has taken us up around Cuba and then in toward the coast of Venezuela. This is the fourth ship in the Princess cruise line that I have traveled on to date—the others being the Sapphire Princess, the Golden Princess and the Diamond Princess.
Layout of the ship:
Although the Island Princess (built 2003) is smaller (at a gross tonnage of 91,627 and a net tonnage of 53,394) than the other ships I have traveled on, it is similarly appointed and feels much roomier than it is. It carries a maximum of 2,368 passengers and 810 crew. Since it was specifically designed to be narrow enough to fit through the Panama Canal, it is a very slender 105 feet wide by 935 feet long.
Our stateroom is located on the Plaza deck (level 5) toward midships right behind the Patisserie coffee bar, juts off the central atrium lounge area (which stretches 4 floors up to the level 8). The tour desk, guest services and future cruise bookings desk are all located on our level. There is also a gangplank position on the 5th level as well as one below on deck 4.
The two main dining rooms (Bordeaux and Provence) are located on decks 5 and 6 respectively (under each other). Shops are located on level 6 as is the casino, the Explorers lounge and the lower (main) level of the Universe show lounge. Level 7 is the promenade deck and features the two specialty restaurants (Sabatinis and (Canjun themed) The Bayou. The latter doubles as a jazz club venue after dinner hours. Entry to the Princess theatre is also on level 7 as is the balcony of the Universe lounge and the Wheelhouse bar and the Crooners martini and piano bar. The Card room, library and internet cafes are located off the atrium on level 8.
Ship activities:
Our cruise director Billy Hygate is a very experienced Princess veteran. So far, we have attended two show performances—one in the Princess theatre and one in the Universe Show Lounge. The former featured the Princess singers and dancers in a performance of “Piano Man” (a tribute to artists like Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka and Liberace). The latter featured a performance by comic magician Scott Alexander. Also on board are comics Billy Vader and actor-performer Adrian Zmed (who had a co-starring role in TJ Hooker in the 80s). We have also attended two evening gameshows “Majority Rules” and the “Newlywed, Not so Newlywed Game” hosted by the assistant cruise director. Our team triumphed in the former (claiming beach bags as prizes) while the latter was a big disappointment. Although twenty plus pairs signed up for the three available spots on the Newlywed Game stage, the couples (supposedly) randomly selected were poor picks and the show wound up more painful than amusing to watch. There is a screening of the Oscar nominated film “Doubt” this evening that we may try to catch.
Food and Drink:
The food on board has been fine to date. We had an excellent (Italian themed) multi-course dinner last evening in Sabatinis and we have a reservation for the Bijou Caféin tow evening’s time. We have selected Traditional Fixed Dining (early seating). Although service has been somewhat disappointing (our head waiter is breaking in a new assistant) the food quality has been consistently good. Two of my table mates are disappointed that the original Princess cheesecake has been replaced by a new lighter (less dense) variation on the recipe. So far I have focused on the seafood entrees and have enjoyed flounder, rock fish, Alaskan salmon and sea bass. We have also attended a wine sampling and afternoon tea in the dining room – I enjoyed the latter more than the former. The classical quarter perform in the restaurant during the afternoon tea.
In terms of casual dining options, the Horizon Court café (forward on the Lido pool deck) offers a reasonable selection of entrees at meal times and some snack selection between meals, until the wee hours of the mornings. We have not tried it at dinner time but have eaten there for breakfast and lunch twice and also went there for a late nights snack one evening. The larger round tables at the very front of the ship offer exceptional views. I have also sampled the pizza and burgers from the pool grille and both are quite tasty. Daily specials have included a sushi and Mexican food bar but I did not get an opportunity to sample those. My travel-mates ordered a specialty ice cream cup from the sundae bar and professed it quite delicious.
Hidden Gem:
In my view the hidden gem on this ship is The Sanctuary-- an exclusive outdoor lounge area located at the rear of the ship on two levels-- the Lido and Sun levels 14 and 15. For an admission price of $10 per half day (there is a morning and afternoon session) you get access to an oversized chaise lounge chair with super-padded mattress. The dedicated attendants will reserve your seat with a special extra large beach towel and also retrieve refreshment items for you (for a $3 gratuity charge). The area offers a selection of both shaded and sun exposed loungers, depending on your preference. You also get excusive access to the Pelican Pool (4’11” deep) at the rear of the ship, which offers a great place to take a relaxing cool dip. It is a much more civilized place to spend a half day in the sun than on the crowded and noisy general pool deck. Compared to rates for cabanas in Vegas or decks chairs in the sand on South Beach, it represents great value. It also offers a better valued alternative to upgrading your room to a balcony unit, since most terraces don’t come with lounges or attendants.
Ports of call:
So far we have hit two ports—Oranjestad, Aruba and Caretegena, Columbia. With three more ports—at Cristobal, Panama; Limon, Costa Rica and Ocho Rios, Jamaica still to come.
Aruba:
We were only in Port in Oranjestad, Aruba for a morning and did not book an excursion. Aruba is one of three islands that comprise the Netherland Antilles, located about 20 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela. Breezy Oranjestad has a population of about 30,000 and is quite prosperous as Caribbean islands rank. Aside for tourism, it is also known for the production of aloe. We spent our morning wandering through the portlands garden spaces and shops (most owned and maintained by the Renaissance hotel). We also spied a very impressive collection of iguanas on the rocks by the sea edge. Thereafter, we paused for refreshments (rapidly consuming a pint of Heineken beer) at a shoreline eatery. The one drawback was that the lineup to reboard the ship was quite long and slow at the end of the morning. After re-boarding we immediately headed to the Sanctuary to escape the crowds and enjoy the sailaway.
Cartagena:
We booked an excursion (# 100 “Best of Cartagena & Fortress”) in this port. This excursion seemed to be one of the more popular, based on the crowed seating section in the Princess theatre awaiting the call to board the buses. The local buses were on the small side and were quite cramped. Although they were air conditioned, between the cramped quarters and the hot Columbian sun, the bus felt more like a sauna by the end of the afternoon. However, we were assigned a very capable local guide—Fernando Lopez—who kept us on time and well informed throughout the tour. We visited several sites on this tour—La Popa monastery (at the highest point in the city) the Fortress of Dan Felipe de Barajas, the “dungeons” in old walled city, a stroll thru the old city streets and town square and into the Church of San Pedro Claver and the Navy Museum (where we received complimentary refreshments and watched a local folklore show) . 20 minutes was also allocated for shopping in a modern local shopping centre. With the exception of the fortress, which required walking up a steep incline, the main challenge on the excursion was staying in the shade out of the sun and evading the numerous strolling local merchants peddling everything from t-shirts and panama hats to cigars, costume jewelry and coffee beans.
Overall, I found the city to be a study in contrasts. It is extremely poverty stricken, with over 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Some of the areas built on the hills (for example on the ascent by windy road up to La Popa)-- that are susceptible to mudslides in the rainy season-- resemble shanty towns, while there are beautiful palatial period homes located on what used to be the outskirts of the old city and modern residential towers in the new city. Aside from the agricultural products (like coffee and tropical fruit) for which it is well known, the country also has a petrochemical industry and is the world’s leading producer of emeralds.
More to follow…
We are on the Fifth day of a 10 day cruise departing from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale Florida) aboard the Island Princess. We embarked on Friday April 3 and spent the first few days at sea, finally reaching our first port (Aruba) yesterday. Our course so far has taken us up around Cuba and then in toward the coast of Venezuela. This is the fourth ship in the Princess cruise line that I have traveled on to date—the others being the Sapphire Princess, the Golden Princess and the Diamond Princess.
Layout of the ship:
Although the Island Princess (built 2003) is smaller (at a gross tonnage of 91,627 and a net tonnage of 53,394) than the other ships I have traveled on, it is similarly appointed and feels much roomier than it is. It carries a maximum of 2,368 passengers and 810 crew. Since it was specifically designed to be narrow enough to fit through the Panama Canal, it is a very slender 105 feet wide by 935 feet long.
Our stateroom is located on the Plaza deck (level 5) toward midships right behind the Patisserie coffee bar, juts off the central atrium lounge area (which stretches 4 floors up to the level 8). The tour desk, guest services and future cruise bookings desk are all located on our level. There is also a gangplank position on the 5th level as well as one below on deck 4.
The two main dining rooms (Bordeaux and Provence) are located on decks 5 and 6 respectively (under each other). Shops are located on level 6 as is the casino, the Explorers lounge and the lower (main) level of the Universe show lounge. Level 7 is the promenade deck and features the two specialty restaurants (Sabatinis and (Canjun themed) The Bayou. The latter doubles as a jazz club venue after dinner hours. Entry to the Princess theatre is also on level 7 as is the balcony of the Universe lounge and the Wheelhouse bar and the Crooners martini and piano bar. The Card room, library and internet cafes are located off the atrium on level 8.
Ship activities:
Our cruise director Billy Hygate is a very experienced Princess veteran. So far, we have attended two show performances—one in the Princess theatre and one in the Universe Show Lounge. The former featured the Princess singers and dancers in a performance of “Piano Man” (a tribute to artists like Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka and Liberace). The latter featured a performance by comic magician Scott Alexander. Also on board are comics Billy Vader and actor-performer Adrian Zmed (who had a co-starring role in TJ Hooker in the 80s). We have also attended two evening gameshows “Majority Rules” and the “Newlywed, Not so Newlywed Game” hosted by the assistant cruise director. Our team triumphed in the former (claiming beach bags as prizes) while the latter was a big disappointment. Although twenty plus pairs signed up for the three available spots on the Newlywed Game stage, the couples (supposedly) randomly selected were poor picks and the show wound up more painful than amusing to watch. There is a screening of the Oscar nominated film “Doubt” this evening that we may try to catch.
Food and Drink:
The food on board has been fine to date. We had an excellent (Italian themed) multi-course dinner last evening in Sabatinis and we have a reservation for the Bijou Caféin tow evening’s time. We have selected Traditional Fixed Dining (early seating). Although service has been somewhat disappointing (our head waiter is breaking in a new assistant) the food quality has been consistently good. Two of my table mates are disappointed that the original Princess cheesecake has been replaced by a new lighter (less dense) variation on the recipe. So far I have focused on the seafood entrees and have enjoyed flounder, rock fish, Alaskan salmon and sea bass. We have also attended a wine sampling and afternoon tea in the dining room – I enjoyed the latter more than the former. The classical quarter perform in the restaurant during the afternoon tea.
In terms of casual dining options, the Horizon Court café (forward on the Lido pool deck) offers a reasonable selection of entrees at meal times and some snack selection between meals, until the wee hours of the mornings. We have not tried it at dinner time but have eaten there for breakfast and lunch twice and also went there for a late nights snack one evening. The larger round tables at the very front of the ship offer exceptional views. I have also sampled the pizza and burgers from the pool grille and both are quite tasty. Daily specials have included a sushi and Mexican food bar but I did not get an opportunity to sample those. My travel-mates ordered a specialty ice cream cup from the sundae bar and professed it quite delicious.
Hidden Gem:
In my view the hidden gem on this ship is The Sanctuary-- an exclusive outdoor lounge area located at the rear of the ship on two levels-- the Lido and Sun levels 14 and 15. For an admission price of $10 per half day (there is a morning and afternoon session) you get access to an oversized chaise lounge chair with super-padded mattress. The dedicated attendants will reserve your seat with a special extra large beach towel and also retrieve refreshment items for you (for a $3 gratuity charge). The area offers a selection of both shaded and sun exposed loungers, depending on your preference. You also get excusive access to the Pelican Pool (4’11” deep) at the rear of the ship, which offers a great place to take a relaxing cool dip. It is a much more civilized place to spend a half day in the sun than on the crowded and noisy general pool deck. Compared to rates for cabanas in Vegas or decks chairs in the sand on South Beach, it represents great value. It also offers a better valued alternative to upgrading your room to a balcony unit, since most terraces don’t come with lounges or attendants.
Ports of call:
So far we have hit two ports—Oranjestad, Aruba and Caretegena, Columbia. With three more ports—at Cristobal, Panama; Limon, Costa Rica and Ocho Rios, Jamaica still to come.
Aruba:
We were only in Port in Oranjestad, Aruba for a morning and did not book an excursion. Aruba is one of three islands that comprise the Netherland Antilles, located about 20 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela. Breezy Oranjestad has a population of about 30,000 and is quite prosperous as Caribbean islands rank. Aside for tourism, it is also known for the production of aloe. We spent our morning wandering through the portlands garden spaces and shops (most owned and maintained by the Renaissance hotel). We also spied a very impressive collection of iguanas on the rocks by the sea edge. Thereafter, we paused for refreshments (rapidly consuming a pint of Heineken beer) at a shoreline eatery. The one drawback was that the lineup to reboard the ship was quite long and slow at the end of the morning. After re-boarding we immediately headed to the Sanctuary to escape the crowds and enjoy the sailaway.
Cartagena:
We booked an excursion (# 100 “Best of Cartagena & Fortress”) in this port. This excursion seemed to be one of the more popular, based on the crowed seating section in the Princess theatre awaiting the call to board the buses. The local buses were on the small side and were quite cramped. Although they were air conditioned, between the cramped quarters and the hot Columbian sun, the bus felt more like a sauna by the end of the afternoon. However, we were assigned a very capable local guide—Fernando Lopez—who kept us on time and well informed throughout the tour. We visited several sites on this tour—La Popa monastery (at the highest point in the city) the Fortress of Dan Felipe de Barajas, the “dungeons” in old walled city, a stroll thru the old city streets and town square and into the Church of San Pedro Claver and the Navy Museum (where we received complimentary refreshments and watched a local folklore show) . 20 minutes was also allocated for shopping in a modern local shopping centre. With the exception of the fortress, which required walking up a steep incline, the main challenge on the excursion was staying in the shade out of the sun and evading the numerous strolling local merchants peddling everything from t-shirts and panama hats to cigars, costume jewelry and coffee beans.
Overall, I found the city to be a study in contrasts. It is extremely poverty stricken, with over 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Some of the areas built on the hills (for example on the ascent by windy road up to La Popa)-- that are susceptible to mudslides in the rainy season-- resemble shanty towns, while there are beautiful palatial period homes located on what used to be the outskirts of the old city and modern residential towers in the new city. Aside from the agricultural products (like coffee and tropical fruit) for which it is well known, the country also has a petrochemical industry and is the world’s leading producer of emeralds.
More to follow…
Monday, February 23, 2009
Weekend in Niagara
We just returned from a getaway weekend for two to Niagara Falls. We stayed a single night (Saturday February 20th) at the Sheraton Fallsview in a comfortable 8th floor room directly overlooking the Table Rock House at the top of the Falls, about two blocks away from the Fallsview Casino. The room rate was approx. $130 (inclusive of all taxes) for the night plus $20 for surface parking in a lot adjacent to the hotel. We dined on ribs at Tony Romas (located in the Radisson, next door to the Sheraton) for dinner. We also enjoyed mid afternoon warmers at The Keg (on the 9th floor of the Embassy Suites hotel) and pre-dinner cocktails at the Blue Martin Lounge on the 34th floor of the Hilton (which is undergoing a massive expansion, with a 55 floor adjoining all suites resort tower being erected next door). I can highly recommend their SweeTart Martini! Finally, we had brunch Sunday morning at the Fallsview Casino’s grand buffet (featuring made to order omelettes and carved ham steak) for less than $12 per plate, including coffee, juice and complimentary coat-check! Before departing we went through the Louis Tussaud’s Wax Works museum at the top of Clifton Hill, posing for pictures with “the stars”.
Pic links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79676&id=526885372&l=8d7d1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79673&id=526885372&l=7ab2e
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79677&id=526885372&l=5c85f
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79681&id=526885372&l=76a3c
Pic links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79676&id=526885372&l=8d7d1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79673&id=526885372&l=7ab2e
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79677&id=526885372&l=5c85f
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79681&id=526885372&l=76a3c
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